Heal Me, Please
by Relwot
Summary: Bella is found by the wolf pack in the woods, freezing cold and with a bloody gash on her leg. Something happened to her in Phoenix, but she doesn't know if she is strong enough to let someone in to help heal her. AU non-cannon. Wolf-pack imprint story.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Ok, this is the first time I have written an imprint story, and I hope you enjoy it! It is an AU story, so there are a couple of minor changes to the story. Charlie lives in La Push, and Bella grew up with him and Renee there until she was eleven.**

**Bella has never met the Cullens, although they will play a part in this story (but it isn't and Edward/Bella story!) Also, Charlie is a Quileute and he knows about the shape shifters. With that said, on with the story!**

**BPOV**

I stared out of the window, watching the runway slowly coming up to meet the plane, felt the jerk as we hit the tarmac and waited without interest for the plane to come to a stop. I was the last person to get off, I just sat and waited until the heaving mass of people had left and then I slowly rose and got my carry-on bag from the overhead locker. I wandered down the aisle, ignoring the annoyed stares from the crew. They wanted to leave, and I was keeping them here.

I got through security and didn't stop at the luggage carousel. I only had the one piece of hand luggage. I hadn't had time to pack anything else, I had just wanted to get out of the house. I walked through the sliding doors and stood waiting for a taxi. I had to wait for ages, with many taxis driving straight past me. I guess I did look awful. I hadn't looked in a mirror in such a long time. I didn't want to see the bruises marring my pale skin, or the dead look that I new was permanently embedded in my eyes. I just wanted to disappear, to forget it all.

Eventually a taxi did stop, and I asked the driver to take me to La Push, my voice croaky and hoarse from lack of use. Well, lack of use for talking. I had done more than my fair share of screaming recently. I didn't say anything else, just sat and stared out of the window as the scenery raced by. I didn't really see anything.

When we arrived at the edge of La Push, the driver turned to me and asked where about in La Push I wanted to go. I said right here was fine. Walking would give me a chance to think of a story to tell Charlie and Sue, a lie that would stop them from worrying. I paid the taxi driver, tipping him heavily. I couldn't be bothered to wait for change. He drove off, shaking his head when he glanced back at me. I hadn't moved.

I suddenly realised that I wasn't ready, I wasn't ready to face people, to smile and pretend that everything was alright. I needed more time to be on my own. I left my suitcase just lying on the sidewalk and headed back the way I had come. I followed the road for a while, refusing to think, just watching my feet take one step after another. I soon got bored of the road, and I started to think about why I was here. Why I had left phoenix, left my mother and Phil. I stopped right there, veering off into the forest. I didn't like the direction my thoughts were taking. It was dangerous.

The trees were beginning to close in around me, and I kept imagining that they were trying to grab me, trying to stop me from carrying on deeper into the forest. I got more and more terrified as the light began to fade. I couldn't tell if it was because the trees were getting closer or if it was the sun setting. Either way, I felt the terror begin to build within me and I picked up my pace, striding forward at a fast walk, breaking into a jog and finally I found myself sprinting flat out, desperate to escape from the trees. Or maybe I was just trying to escape from everything, the memories, the pain.

I ran for what felt like hours, and eventually I tripped. I guess it was pretty much guaranteed. I was surprised I had got this far without falling actually. I tried to push myself back up onto my feet, but I just didn't have the strength or the will power to make myself rise from the forest floor. I collapsed onto my side and curled up into a ball. Tears began to well up in my eyes, and before long they were streaming down my face as I sobbed and gasped, trying to get enough air into my lungs. My tears were soaking me, my clothes, my hair, my face.

Or maybe it was raining. I was definitely wet and cold. Just my luck. I laughed at that. As if I had any luck. My laughter soon turned hysterical, and it mixed with my gut-wrenching sobs, my tears now indistinguishable from the rain. Maybe I would get so cold and tired that I would die. Death would be a welcome relief, the only way I could truly escape the pain. I denied it all the time, lied to myself, told myself that there was no pain. But every night, when I lay down to sleep, the memories would flood my mind, creating the terrible nightmares. I wasn't ok, I didn't know if I ever would be. How could I possibly heal, how could I possibly forget? I slowly felt the darkness of unconsciousness closing in on me, and I welcomed it with open arms.

* * *

Cold, wet, and exhausted, I opened my eyes to find that I was still on the forest floor. I smiled, I really had left phoenix. I heard a strange clacking noise, and it took me a moment to realise it was my teeth knocking together uncontrollably. I curled up tighter, trying to find warmth. I was so cold. My very core felt like it was frozen into ice, my lungs were too cold to take in air properly. My heart was also frozen, but it had been like that for longer than I could remember.

I new I would die. There was no way I could survive. I was lost deep in the woods, and no one even new that I was here. Everyone in Phoenix thought I was at home whilst my mum and Phil went on another honeymoon, and everyone in La Push had either forgotten me or thought I was with my mother. There was no one to look for me, no one to find me. I was dying. Strangely, I felt slightly upset at this. Poor Charlie, poor Renee. How would they cope when they couldn't find their only daughter? I tried to think of other people that would miss me.

I had no friends in Phoenix, he had made sure of that. All of my childhood friends here in La Push had probably forgotten me. I thought of my old best friend, Jacob Black. Would he be sad when he found out I was missing? Would he even know who Bella was? I fell back into unconsciousness with that thought.

* * *

**SamPOV**

I was out patrolling with Jake, Embry, Jared and Paul. The leeches had moved back into forks, and even though they had told us that the treaty was still intact, I had stepped up the patrols just to be on the safe side. Paul and I branched off from Jake and Embry. _Jake, Embry, you go back to La Push, and patrol around there. Paul, come with me to check the forest._

They obeyed me instantly, and I ran into the trees, with Paul on my left flank. Suddenly, I froze, mid-stride. What was that scent? It was sweet, like strawberries and honey mixed together. Not a leech, definitely human, a girl. But what was a girl doing so deep in the forest? I sniffed the air again, and I growled when I picked up the faint scent of blood. She was hurt. _Jake, Embry, come here. There is a girl somewhere nearby. I think she hurt. I can smell blood._

Paul and I raced off in the direction the smell was coming from, both of our thoughts confused. It wasn't someone local, I would have recognised their scent if it was. Someone from Forks maybe? But what would they be doing here? The scent was getting stronger, and Jake and Embry were now running along with me. I stopped when I could here her faint breathing nearby and phased back into a human, pulling on my shorts quickly. The others followed my lead.

"I didn't want to scare her" I murmured as an explanation. They all nodded. Carefully, I approached the girl, pushing through the thick undergrowth. I saw her there, lying curled up in a ball, blood oozing from a gash in her leg.

"Paul, head back to La Push. Go to Charlie and Sue's place. Tell them I am bringing a girl we found in the forest. Get Doctor Collin to be there waiting for us. The rest of you, stay with me." I instructed and Paul ran off into the forest stripping his shorts off and phasing as he went. I carefully approached the girl, not wanting to scare her. I got closer and she wasn't moving, except for her ragged, uneven breathing. Jake and Embry carefully followed me.

I crouched down beside her, reaching out a hand and gently shook her. I got no response, so I carefully unrolled her from her curled up position and lay her on her back. Her lips were pale and blue, her skin so white, as if there was no blood in her body. She was freezing cold, and soaked through by the rain. Her eyes were closed, and she didn't wake up when I shook her gently. Jake was carefully rolling up the leg of her jeans, uncovering the wound in her leg. It looked quite bad, deep and swollen, full of dirt from the forest floor. It looked like it was infected. I cursed silently, and ripped a strip from the bottom of her shirt to wrap around the gash to try and stop it from bleeding.

I carefully slipped a hand under her knees and behind her shoulders, effortlessly lifting her into my arms and I took off at a jog, hugging her against my chest to try and warm her up. Jake and Embry ran along beside me.

"Do you think she will be ok? She looks terrible!" Embry murmured, and I answered him without turning or slowing down.

"I don't know. It doesn't look good. She must have been out there for hours. We just need to get her home."

"She looks familiar, as if I know her. I obviously don't, the only girls I know are on the reservation, and she definitely isn't from around here. But she really does look familiar." Jake said with a puzzled look as he studied her lifeless face.

I didn't reply, I just kept running. We were near to the reservation now, and I told Jake and Embry to go on ahead to tell the others I was nearly there. They sprinted off at full speed. I didn't want to jolt her, so I kept jogging at a slower pace until I arrived at Charlie's place. Sue was standing outside with Doctor Collin, both of them alarmed my the sight of the girl hanging limply in my arms.

"Get her inside and lay her down on the couch. Sue, get some blankets and maybe a mug of something warm. We need to wake her up and get her body temperature back up to normal. Hurry!" Doctor Collin slipped into his professional role and led the way through to the living room. Jake, Embry, Jared, Seth Quil and Leah were all crowded into the living room and they all parted to let me through to lay her down on the couch. Charlie came racing down the stairs, his arms full with blankets. He ran over to the couch and froze.

The pile of blankets fell to the floor, his gaze locked onto the girls face. "Bella" he whispered. Jake leapt to the sofa, growling.

"I knew that I knew her! What happened to her? She looks so different, so tiny." he said, staring at Bella like Charlie was.

Charlie shook his head and dropped to his knees, taking her hand in his, his face filled with pain, mumbling her name again and again.

"Do you know this girl?" I asked, confused.

"She is my daughter" he whispered and pandemonium broke out in the room.

"Go into the kitchen! Give her some room!" I used my power as the alpha to clear the room, except for Jake, Doctor Collin, Charlie and Sue, who walked in with a steaming mug of hot chocolate. Doctor Collin pulled Charlie out of the way and began to unbutton Bella's shirt.

"What are you doing?!" Charlie yelled, and I grabbed him to stop him from lunging at Collin.

"Her clothes are soaking, she will never warm up if she keeps them on.

"I don't want you stripping my daughter!" Charlie yelled at him.

"I will get her out of her clothes. She can wear some of mine." Sue said quietly, and we all nodded in agreement as we left the room. In the kitchen, everyone was talking in whispers.

"Is it really Bella Swan? She doesn't look like how I remembered her. She is so small and pale." Quil asked me. I remembered that he, Embry and Jake used to be close friends with her. They talked about her sometimes, although the rest of the pack hadn't actually met her. She had left with her mother six years ago, and hadn't been heard from since. Charlie talked about her frequently, but she never contacted him. I wasn't sure of the details, but I know that it broke his heart when his wife left with his eleven-year-old daughter.

He was happy now, married to Sue Clearwater. He had been there for her when her husband, Harry, died of a heart attack a couple of years ago. Charlie was now Seth and Leah's step dad.

I realised that everyone was watching me, waiting for my answer to Quil's question. "Yes, it is Bella Swan. I can't say if she is different, most of us never knew her when she lived here. I don't know why she was in the forest, but we should probably leave now. Give her some peace." I said, and everyone started to file out of the door except for Embry, Quil and Jake. I nodded at them and we all pulled out seats and waited tensely around the table.

"Where did Paul go? I didn't see him" I asked, worried. Paul was the kind of person who liked to be in the thick of things, and I had expected to find him here with the rest of the pack.

"He is upstairs, clearing out a room for her to rest in. Sue told him to stop hanging around like a lost puppy and make himself useful." Quil replied. Despite the gravity of the situation, Jake and Embry smiled slightly at this. Listening carefully, I could hear him upstairs. I could also hear Bella's frantic heartbeat, its irregular rhythm worried me.

"You can come back in now, Collin." I heard Sue's voice call out and we all walked into the room. I heard footsteps on the stairs and Paul walked into the room. He glanced around the room before letting his eyes rest upon Bella. As soon as he looked at her, her eyes blinked open and made contact with his, her chocolate brown eyes fastened onto his, and a look of shock and wonder passed over both of their faces.

"Shit!" I swore, why did this have to happen, and why did it have to happen now? Why did Paul have to bloody well imprint?!?

**A/N Ok, so I hoped you enjoyed it! I really would appreciate it if you took the time to tell me what you thought of it! The story line is not set in stone, so I am open to any suggestions you might have. Relwot xxx**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Because of the good response, i shall post another chapter today! The updates won't all be this frequent though. Real life gets in the way :(**

**This chapter starts to show how much Bella is suffering. It may seem a little OOC for her, but horrible stuff has happened to her. You will find out exactly what later in the story. **

**Also, Doctor Collin, knows about the werewolves and is the doctor who treats them all. They couldn't exactly go to the hospital with their temperature and fast healing!**

**PPOV**

I stepped into the room and saw Sam, Jake, Embry, Quil, Charlie, Sue and Doctor Collin all gathered around the sofa. I let my gaze fall onto the girls face, and her eyes blinked open at that second, locking into mine.

I was drowning, swimming, lost in those beautiful eyes. I felt as if my whole life, my whole existence, had shifted and changed, as if I had been lost for all of my life until I laid eyes upon the beautiful creature before me. And beautiful she was, stunning, gorgeous, perfect, incredible. I was almost literally blown away by her staggering beauty. I could not understand how I had ever lived without her, she had become my entire being.

Wait! What was I thinking? Quickly I blinked and looked away. This was not me! Paul never thought like that! I was above that, I didn't fall for girls at first sight! What was happening to me?! I couldn't be here, I couldn't risk looking at her again. I had to get out. I barrelled past Sam, shrugging off his grip on my arm and burst out of the house. I broke into a run, desperate to get away from that house, from her.

I couldn't think straight, everything seemed to lead back to her beautiful, lovely, amazing…stop! I almost yelled out loud at my self. Why? I was so confused, so lost. What had happened back there? I ran into the woods and phased, not bothering to remove my shorts first. I would regret that later, but not now. I just wanted to run, to clear my head and think.

_She is going to be ok. She is awake and starting to warm up. Don't worry. _I heard Sam as he phased into a wolf. I wasn't worried for her! I didn't care what happened to her! I knew it was a lie as soon as I thought it. It meant everything to me, the fact that she was ok. Oh! Shit!

I stopped running. I understand now. I, Paul, have imprinted upon some random human girl. _She isn't random. Her name is Bella Swan. She is Charlie's daughter. _I heard Sam, and then he was gone. Giving me privacy, I suppose. Charlie's daughter? I wondered what she was doing in the woods. I wondered why I had gone and _imprinted_ on her! I mean, Paul does not date, or fall in love, or be with anyone romantically. The boys were going to give me so much shit for this.

I sighed and phased back into a human. I needed to see her. Already there was a dull ache in my chest from not being near her. I wanted to see her so badly. I glanced down. Ooops. I shredded my shorts. Damn! I ran back to my house, which fortunately was right by the woods so I didn't need to run through the reservation where someone might see me. I ran up to my room and threw on the first pair of shorts I came across before sprinting back downstairs and out the door, heading for Charlie's place as quickly as I could. I just needed to see for myself that she was ok.

I slowed down as I reached the door and gently pushed it open before walking through into the living room. Sam was there, and he smiled at me. I turned my gaze back to Bella. Even her name was beautiful. She was propped up on some pillows her eyes clouded over and her lips still too pale to be natural. She was shivering despite the many blankets covering her, and Collin looked worried.

"Bella?" he asked, gently shaking her. She didn't reply, but her eyes shut and her head lolled back. Collin carefully caught her head and slid her down the sofa so that she was lying flat.

"It isn't good Charlie, she wont respond to anyone and she isn't getting any warmer. I wonder if we should take her too the hospital" Collin said.

"Let me help. I could warm her up in no time." Did I just say that? Everyone in the room was looking at me, and I felt vaguely embarrassed.

"Actually, that is a good idea. You werewolves do have a high body temperature. It could save her." Collin nodded at me, and pulled the blankets off Bella. I walked over and gently gathered her up in my arms, curling her into a ball against my chest. Collin placed a blanket over the two of us, then carefully pulled her leg out from under the blanket. I felt a growl growing deep in my chest as I saw the deep gash that looked swollen and painful. She must have fallen or something whilst she was in the forest.

Sue went upstairs quickly whilst Collin started to clean the wound, and she came back down with a bowl of warm water and a couple of cloths. She slowly began to wipe away the mud and dirt from her face and arms. I took the other cloth and helped her. I was shocked when we wiped away the dirt to see that her beautiful face was covered in semi-healed bruises. It was the same on her arms and neck. The bruises looked a few days old, and I wasn't sure what could have caused them.

"Look, Collin. What do you think these are from?" I asked quietly, pointing out the multitude of bruises across her pale skin. He frowned slightly and leaned in to look more closely at them. He tilted her chin slightly to get a better look at the bruises on her neck.

"I'm not sure, but these look as if she has been grabbed around the neck, and the one on her cheek looks like it came from a punch." he said, a worried look coming to his face.

"You think someone beat her up?" Charlie asked, anger laced through his words.

"I can't be certain. But yes, I think so Charlie. Maybe that is why she left?" he asked gently.

"I don't know. I need to get in contact with Renee, but there is no answer on their home number. I'll go and try again now."

Throughout this brief conversation I felt the tremors beginning to wrack my body. Someone had hurt my beautiful baby, someone had beat her up. The anger I felt was different to how my anger normally felt. This was deeper, more carnal. It spread through me, burning me from the inside, and I was on the verge of loosing control when my gorgeous angel opened her eyes and once again stared deep into my soul.

**BPOV**

I was in a house, wrapped up in something that was deliciously warm, something that seemed to be trembling. With great effort I opened my eyes and saw the most beautiful face I think I have ever seen. He was gorgeous, with a chiselled jawbone, lips that were the perfect fullness and eyes that went on forever and ever. He had tanned skin that seemed to glow and short black hair.

He seemed angry when I first opened my eyes, but suddenly all that anger disappeared, along with the trembling. I realised that the warmth was because I was curled up in his arms, and I was perfectly happy to stay there.

Suddenly it hit me. I was curled up in a man's arms. I let out a terrified scream and struggled frantically, trying to break his grasp. He was shocked and let me leap out of his arms. I threw myself away from him, but found that one of my legs couldn't support my weight. I glanced down, and saw it was bandaged up. I realised that I was still screaming and I tried to stop, but I just couldn't. The screams turned to gasping sobs as I crumpled to the floor.

Except I never hit the floor. Someone's strong arm gripped me around the waist. Turning my head I saw that it was another man, and I shied away from him in terror, still sobbing and gasping, tears streaming down my face. I didn't want him to touch me! I didn't want anyone to touch me! It brought back the memories of how _he _used to hit me, and I was truly terrified. He lowered me to the floor and backed away, his hands held in the air in a gesture of surrender.

I curled into a ball, the pain from my leg only made me sob harder. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I jerked away.

"Don't touch me!" I half yelled, half begged. I looked up from my arms and saw a familiar yet changed face. It was Jacob. I was torn, wanting to throw myself into his arms, but terrified to go near him. Any physical contact terrified me, and I wasn't ready to get over it yet.

"Ok, I won't touch you. I don't want to hurt Bells. None of us will hurt you, I promise. We want to help." he said quietly, his face pained as I shuffled away from him and the rest of them, trying to disappear. I felt something behind me and almost screamed again before I realised it was the wall. I buried my head in my arms and just cried and cried and cried. I wanted it all to stop, the pain, the memories, the way that anyone and anything could trigger the hurt and sorrow.

I heard a door open and shut, and I glanced up. Everyone had left except for a man and a woman sitting on the sofa, not speaking, just watching me. Wait, that man…

"D-dad?" I questioned, my voice shaking slightly.

"Yes, honey. I'm here. Please, don't be scared." he said, his voice gentle. Carefully I stood up and limped over to the sofa, collapsing in his lap and hugging him to me.

"I'm sorry," I kept murmuring. I had hurt him with my reaction, scared him. I lifted my head and looked at the woman next to me. "Sue?" I questioned, recognising her as Seth and Leah's mum. She just nodded and carefully placed a hand on my shoulder. I fought the urge to shrug it off, and let her lean in and hug me gently.

"I am married to your dad. My husband, Harry, died a couple of years ago. I guess that makes me your step mum." she smiled gently at me, and cautiously I smiled back at her.

We sat like that for what felt like hours, none of us moving. I calmed myself down and managed to stop crying. Eventually Charlie moved a bit and asked if we were hungry. Sue nodded, but I just shook my head. I went into the kitchen with them anyway. I sat down at the table, pulling my knees up to my chest. I was starting to feel ashamed of my outburst earlier.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have acted like that." I said softly, and Sue came over and hugged me.

"Its alright, it really doesn't matter." she said before going to get dinner ready.

I rubbed my sore leg, and looked up at Charlie.

"What happened to my leg?" I asked him.

"You don't remember? I don't know. The guys found you in the forest, lying on the floor. I think you probably fell and hurt your leg. But the Doctor says your leg will heal up fine." he said, surprised that I didn't remember.

Sue placed a big bowl of pasta in the middle of the table and a smaller bowl with a tomato sauce in it. Charlie and she dug in eagerly, but I didn't touch my food. It wasn't that I wasn't hungry, I just couldn't bring myself to eat. After they had finished, Sue lead me upstairs to a bedroom.

"Here is your room! You know, I am not going to force you to tell me what happened, but if you want to talk, then please, don't hesitate. No matter what time it is, I will always be here to listen to you. You can trust me." she smiled and left the room, and I climbed into the bed, letting sleep overcome me. I had no nightmares that night, and I slept for hours and hours, the longest I had slept for in months.

* * *

I woke up feeling completely refreshed, if a little disorientated. It was dark outside, and it took me a moment to realise that I had slept through the night and the next day. I could hear my dad's gentle snores, and it made me smile slightly. I wasn't tired anymore, so I got up quietly and went downstairs. I walked into the kitchen and decided to that I needed to go for a walk. I went outside, feeling the chilly night air on my skin. It was cold out tonight.

I wandered randomly through the town, refusing to think about what had happened. My leg still twinged with every step, but I was no longer limping. Without realising it, I ended up outside Jacob's house. I remembered it from when I was younger, and was tempted to knock. But him and Billy would be asleep. I didn't want to disturb them. Then I heard quiet voices round the back and I decided to explore.

There was a garage around the back, and the voices seemed to be coming from there. Men's voices. I felt a little bit of fear start to form in my stomach, but I swallowed it down and walked cautiously towards the garage. I almost screamed and jumped about a foot in the air when the door opened suddenly, but I relaxed when I saw it was Jacob. There was something about him, I just couldn't be scared of him. Sure, I had been yesterday, but I had been completely freaked out and disorientated. I couldn't let the fear _he _implanted in me rule my life.

Jake was still staring at me as if he had seen a ghost. He blinked and then strode over to wrap me in a hug. That was a step to far and I backed away a few steps. He frowned, but didn't follow it up.

"What you doing here Bells?" he asked standing about a foot away from me.

"I was just wandering around and I heard voices. I came to investigate"

"Oh, its just me and the boys hanging out" he replied. "Want to join us?" he asked, cocking his head to the side. There was more to the question than me hanging out with his friends. Would I cope with it? Would he get an explanation for what happened? My answer could mean so much, but I wasn't sure if I was ready to 'hang out' with guys yet. I wasn't sure If I would be able to cope. To hell with it, I suddenly thought. In Phoenix, no way. But here? Here I felt so much more free, I felt as if I could cope with this.

"Yes, ok." I said and his answering smile was so bright I couldn't resist smiling shyly back at him. I was grateful when he didn't make a move to hold my hand or anything. We just walked to the garage and he did a dramatic introduction which made me blush.

There were all the guys that were there yesterday, plus a few others. They all introduced themselves. Quil, Jared, Embry, Sam, Seth and Paul. Paul was the one I had been curled up against. I recognised him instantly. He was staring at me with a strange expression on his face, and I looked down, blushing under his intense gaze. There was silence in the garage, and I felt that I had to say something.

"I'm sorry for what happened yesterday. I really am." I said, feeling my face getting hotter and hotter.

"Nah, don't worry. Its cool." Embry said and then everyone started talking again. I sat down on the floor next to Jake, who was sitting in the open door of a semi assembled car. I didn't really pay attention to any of it, not really interested. I was just proud of myself for being here. It was a huge leap for me. I was so glad that I left Phoenix, so glad that I was no longer in danger from _him. _

"So Bella, why'd you move here again?" Quil asked, and I felt all of the eyes in the room turn on me.

"I dunno, I guess I just, umm, wanted to, umm, have a change of scenery, I guess." I managed to stumble out. Smooth Bella, I though sarcastically to myself. "Hey, Jake, could we open the door or something? Its getting kinda hot in here." I said, partly to change the subject and partly because I really was feeling warm. It was probably because of all the blushing I seemed to be doing right now. Thankfully, Quil let it drop, and stood up to open the door for me. They all returned to their conversations, and again, I tuned it all out, resting my head against the car and closing my eyes.

Jake was teasing the one called Jared, and they were swapping insults. It was quite funny actually, but Jake and Jared seemed to be really intense and angry with each other. I just shut my eyes again and tuned it out, perfectly content right now.

I jerked up when I felt something hit me in the head, and I squealed in surprise and pain. I looked down and saw that it was a screw driver of some sort. I lifted my hand to my head and felt a gash in my forehead that was bleeding. I glared up at the one who had thrown it at me, Jared, and he leapt up to come to my aid.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry Bella! I was aiming for Jake!" he said as he walked towards me. I should have known that the secure feeling wouldn't last. I scrambled up and backed away from him, blood dribbling down over my eye, partially blinding me.

"Jared, stop!" Embry and Quil called out, and he froze, but I kept backing towards the door. I was scared. They were all looking at me. He had thrown something at me. What if the others started? I wouldn't stand a chance against one of them, let alone if all of them started. What if they followed his example?

"Bella, we won't hurt you. It was an accident!" I heard Sam say, but I was getting more and more terrified. I felt a gust of wind behind me and heard the door slam shut. I felt something on my cheek, and realised that I was crying. The tears were mixing with the blood and I began to sob.

"Bella, please!" Jake's voice pleaded with me, but I couldn't see him. I couldn't see any of them, they were all just a blur through the tears and the blood. I began to cry even harder, the sobs ripping from my chest, and I felt my back hit the closed door. I would have to turn around to open the door, I would have to turn my back on them. I couldn't do it, I just couldn't. I felt my legs give way, and I landed awkwardly, my sore leg burned and I was sure I had reopened the wound. My sobs were getting louder, and I started to tremble, feeling truly terrified. One of the guys, I couldn't tell who, moved slightly towards me and I began to scream. I curled up in a ball, still screaming until the darkness of unconsciousness claimed me.

**A/N Please review, I need to know how I am doing if I am to improve as a writer. Thanks. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N I am so sorry that I didn't update yesterday, I know I said I would. Anyway, here it is now. Enjoy!**

**PPOV**

I was shocked when Jake walked back into the garage with beautiful Bella behind him. She looked scared, but not as terrified as she had looked yesterday. That had hurt me so much, the fact that she was scared of me. I would never, ever hurt her. I couldn't hurt her, she already meant too much to me even though I didn't even know her properly. I was desperate to know what had happened to her, but I wasn't going to force her to tell me before she was ready. I didn't want to scare her away again.

"I present to you Lady Bella," said Jake with a flourishing bow, and Bella looked down, the sweetest blush on her face when everyone turned to face her. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. She looked up as all of the guys introduced themselves, me included, and she locked her gaze with me for a second before looking down and blushing again.

"I'm sorry for what happened yesterday. I really am." she said, her blushing increasing steadily. I was about to say don't worry about it, but Embry beat me too it.

"Nah, don't worry. Its cool." he said and then everyone started talking again. She walked over and sat on the floor near Jake, glancing round the room with a slightly nervous look before leaning against the old car and closing her eyes. I tried to stop staring at her, but I couldn't take my eyes away from her. She had the most stunning face, even if she wasn't the obviously beautiful type. The more you looked at her, the more beautiful she appeared. Well, maybe I was a bit biased, but she was absolutely gorgeous.

"So Bella, why'd you move back here?" Quil asked, and all of our eyes focused on her. Her eyes were filled with worry, and she stuttered a reply.

"I dunno, I guess I just, umm, wanted to, umm, have a change of scenery, I guess." she blushed again, and we all knew she was lying. "Hey, Jake, could we open the door or something? Its getting kinda hot in here." she said, obviously trying to distract us from her jumbled answer. I was glad that Quil let it drop, instead he just got up and opened the door. I wanted to know the truth, but none of us wanted to push her. She would tell us if and when she was ready.

She relaxed back against the car again, closing her eyes and not really paying much attention to what was going on around her. I watched her, saw every tiny movement she made, listened to the faint sound of her heartbeat, picking it out from the rest of the noise with my sensitive wolf hearing. She was wearing cut-off jeans and a simple white shirt, but somehow she made it look like the most fashionable outfit ever. I could happily have sat there watching her forever, but I was distracted by the sound of raised voices.

Jake and Jared were having some sort of argument, and I knew that although they sounded really angry, it was really just for fun. I shook my head slightly, and turned back to Bella, and I was as shocked as she was when a screw driver that Jared had aimed at Jake hit her in the forehead. The wound immediately began to bleed, and I leapt up along with the rest of the guys, turning angrily to Jared. He was running towards Bella, trying to help.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry Bella! I was aiming for Jake!" he said, as he got closer to Bella. I instantly knew she wouldn't react well to this, and Embry and Quil realised this too, calling out to Jared to stop. He froze, but the damage had been done. The same terrified look that had haunted me since I first saw it was on her face again, and she scrambled away from Jared, even though he had stopped moving.

"Bella, we won't hurt you. It was an accident!" I heard Sam say, but it wasn't helping. She was getting more and more panicked by the second, backing towards the door, as tears began to mix with the blood falling down her cheeks from the cut in her forehead.

"Bella, please," Jake pleaded with her, reaching out towards her, but that just made her worse. The pain she was clearly feeling was also embedded deep within me. My angel was hurting, suffering, and there was nothing I could do to help. A gust of wind burst through the door, slamming it shut, and the noise made her begin to sob, the tears and blood flowing more and more, her panic escalating quickly.

She collapsed against the door, and I could see her leg beginning to bleed again, as she curled into a ball, sobs and screams ripping from her until suddenly she went quiet, passing out from the sheer terror she had just experienced. We all remained frozen for another few seconds before we came to life. I was the first by her side, cradling her bloody head in my arms, fighting back my own tears as I wiped away hers.

Sam crouched down next to her, carefully taking the bandage off her injured leg. The wound was bleeding heavily, and I was worried at the amount blood she was loosing. I ripped a bit of fabric off my shorts and pressed it against the cut in her forehead. It wasn't deep, but head wounds tended to bleed a lot. I was more worried about her leg.

"I am so sorry, really. I don't know what I was thinking. I'm really sorry," I heard Jared behind me, and I didn't bother replying. I just needed to get my angel safe again. I carefully scooped her up into my arms, pulling her against my chest.

"Someone call Collin, I'll take her into your house Jake." I said, taking charge and jogging out of the garage and toward Jake's house. I burst through the door and carefully laid her down on the sofa. She looked so fragile and pale. There was something very wrong, and I was desperate to find out what so that I could help her get better.

I knelt beside the sofa, clutching one of her hands in mine. She was warm, her skin felt like it was the same temperature as mine, which definitely wasn't a good thing. I pulled off the blanket someone had covered her with, and gently placed a hand on her forehead. I asked Jake to fetch a thermometer, and took her temperature. One hundred and eight degrees exactly. Identical to me and the rest of the wolves. I was really worried now, she shouldn't have such a high temperature, it was dangerous for a human.

Collin seemed to take forever to arrive, but in reality it was only about ten minutes. I spent the entire time holding her hand, feeling such a terrible ache within me that it was like a physical pain. I couldn't believe that my imprint, the woman I loved, was terrified of me. Even though it would hurt me, if she wanted me to stay away then I would. Anything to stop this suffering she was going though.

The wound on her head had almost stopped bleeding by the time Collin got here, and her leg wasn't quite so bad. She had also cooled down a great deal, she was almost back to normal temperature, which was such a relief. She would be alright, I kept on telling myself, chanting it to myself again and again, trying to believe it.

Collin was concerned with what had caused this outburst. He didn't understand it, but he did spend more time examining the now faint bruises on her face and neck. He carefully removed her shirt, earning growls me and a couple of the others, but what really made us growl was the sight of the cuts, bruises and scars that covered her stomach and chest. I felt a huge bolt of anger strike through me, and I was trembling so much that the sofa was also shaking. I felt Sam place a hand on my shoulder, and I took deep, calming breaths.

"Who did this to her?" I spat out between my clenched teeth.

Jake and Embry knelt next to me, and I noticed that they were also trembling. Everyone in the room was so angry with whoever had done this to her, even though we didn't know who it was. She had obviously been beaten up several times, with the bruises at different stages of healing and the scars and cuts that were littered across her pale stomach.

Her ribs were clearly visible, and I now began to notice that she wasn't just frail and fragile like most humans, she was painfully skinny, with bones clearly visible everywhere on her. Collin was working on the gash in her calf, and I saw how tiny and slim her legs were. I could almost see her thigh bone through her skin, she was that skinny.

My beautiful angel had been hurt repeatedly, and as this fact sunk in, it was only the fact that phasing now would probably hurt her that kept me from phasing right then. I desperately wanted to leave, to take my anger out through running or something, but I couldn't leave my baby. Even if she didn't want me, she needed all the support she could get. I wanted to be there for her when she woke up. I needed to be there for her when she woke up.

Collin was still working on her leg, a small frown on his face.

"What's wrong, Collin?" I asked, concern showing clearly in my voice.

"Nothing, its just the bleeding has already stopped. Its strange, I thought it would continue to bleed for a lot longer. It doesn't matter though." he said, shrugging his shoulders and then beginning to bandage up her leg. "But I don't want her to walk on it for the next few days. She will need to rest, and if she does need to move, someone should help her." he said, and I felt my heart leap a little. Now there was an excuse for me to stay around her!

Collin continued to work for another ten minutes, cleaning the wound on her head as well, before proclaiming her fine.

"I'll come back tomorrow afternoon to check on her again. I think it is best if only a couple of you hang around, you don't want to scare her when she wakes up. If she starts to panic again, I think it is probably best if you just leave the room carefully. You don't want to terrify her." with that he headed off, probably to bed. It was, after all, about three o'clock in the morning.

"Ok, Jake, Paul and I will stay. The rest of you should head home, except for Quil and Embry. I want you on patrol for the rest of the night. I still don't trust those Cullen's." Sam commanded, and I was relieved that I had been allowed to stay. I don't think that I could have lived without knowing she was ok.

**BPOV**

I felt awful, and there was a gentle throbbing in my head. My leg was also quite painful, and I felt stiff and achy all over. I tried to remember where I was, and all of a sudden the memories came flooding back. The screw driver thrown at my head, all of the guys gathered around, the terror. I shivered slightly and opened my eyes.

Jake, Sam and Paul all stood against the wall, as far away from me as they could get in the tiny room. I was on a couch, with a pillow under my head. I turned my face to them and winced at the sharp pain that shot through my head and neck.

"Bella, how are you feeling? I promise, none of us will hurt you. We just stayed to see if you were alright," Sam said, and I realised why they were crammed away from me. They were scared of scaring me. I was grateful that they didn't come any closer, my nerves were in tatters right now.

"I guess I'm alright. I hurt everywhere though" I managed to croak out, my throat burning. "How long was I out for?" I asked.

"Just over half an hour. Do you remember what happened?" Sam replied.

"Yes, I do. I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have reacted like that. Its just, sometimes I get scared. I'm sorry." I said, feeling guilty for my outburst.

"Do you feel well enough to go home?" he asked gently, and I nodded my head slightly. Ouch, I thought. Nodding hurts.

"Doctor Collin said that you shouldn't walk on your bad leg for a few days. One of us will have to help you get home. Would you be ok with that?" he asked, and I felt a tiny smidgeon of fear shoot through me, but I ignored it. I couldn't, wouldn't let it rise up again like it had tonight.

"Umm, ok. I guess." I mumbled, and to my surprise it was Paul who stepped towards me, slowly and making sure that I saw him coming.

"Its probably easiest if I just carry you home. Is that ok with you?" he asked, and I nodded. He carefully placed an arm under my shoulders and one under my knees, scooping me up effortlessly. I knew I wasn't exactly heavy, but still, he treated me like I was weightless. I was strange.

"Ok then, lets get you home," he said, smiling gently down at me. I tentatively smiled back, which made him smile even more. He walked out of the house, cradling me carefully against his chest. The night air was freezing, and I instinctively curled into him for warmth. I was surprised, he felt like he had a fever, but I was too tired to bother with asking him about it.

The gentle sway of him walking was slowly lulling me to sleep, and the warmth of his russet skin didn't help to keep me awake. The last thing I remembered was him walking towards Charlie's house, before the darkness of sleep claimed me.

**PPOV**

I wanted to leap for joy when she said I could carry her, and I treasured the feel of her small, frail body cradled against my chest. The night was cold, and I felt her snuggle further into my arms. I was truly content at that moment, and when I smiled at her she tentatively smiled back.

The warmth from my body and the gentle sway of my walk soon lulled her to sleep, and I carefully opened the door to Charlie's house and walked upstairs to her room, tucking her up I bed as gently as I could. I heard Sam waking Charlie and Sue up to tell them what had happened. I sat on the edge of the bed, wanting to stay with her for as long as possible. Sam walked in, with a sleepy Sue following behind. He gestured for me to leave, and unwillingly I stood. I was about to step away when I felt a hand grab my arm.

"Please, stay with me. Wake me if I have a nightmare," my beautiful angel begged, her eyes filled with sorrow as I stared into them. Glancing back at Sue, she nodded and I sat on the floor, my face level with hers. She smiled at me and whispered thank you before slipping back to sleep. I heard the door shut, and settled against the bed, falling asleep quickly.

* * *

I woke to the sound of muffled screams, and saw my beautiful Bella thrashing around, sobbing and screaming. I leapt up, and grabbed her shoulder, shaking her awake. Tears were streaming down her face, and she looked so lost and helpless, I couldn't help myself. I sat next to her and gathered her up in my arms, rocking her back and forth, whispering to her that it was alright, it was just a dream. She curled up into a tiny ball in my arms, and continued to sob for a while. Slowly I felt the tears stop, and her breathing became a little less erratic. I continued to gently rock her, murmuring comforts into her ear.

A little while later she uncurled her head from the crook of my arm, gazing up at me with tear-swollen eyes, and smiled softly at me.

"Thank you." she whispered, and I just nodded. I moved to tuck her back in, but she wrapped her arms around my waist, clearly not wanting to let go. So instead, I rolled onto my side and pulled up the covers over us, her arms still locked around me. She sighed happily and drifted slowly back to sleep, a tiny smile playing on her lips. I was so happy, ecstatic, that she hadn't freaked out when I woke her up, that she had been happy to fall asleep curled up in my arms. I just wished I knew what was going on.

**A/N Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews, I really do appreciate them. Please tell me what you thought of this chapter. I know there weren't many answers in it, but a lot is going to happen in the next chapter, so stay tuned! I wanted to show their relationship slowly starting to develop. I will hopefully be able to update in a couple of days. Relwot xxx**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Ok next chapter! Lots of questions answered in this one. Enjoy!**

**PPOV**

The doorbell woke me up, and I glanced at the clock. Why was someone ringing my doorbell at 4 am? Wait, it wasn't my house, it was Bella's. I heard Charlie get up and stumble down the stairs, letting whoever it was in. They didn't stop to say hello, and I heard several pairs of footsteps climbing the stairs. There was a gentle tap on the door, and I told them to come in. Quietly Sam, Jake, Embry, Quil and Jared filed into the room, being careful not to wake Bella.

"Paul, we need to talk now. Embry found the scent of a vampire on our land, and we need to decide what to do. Leave Bella, we are going to meet with the council at Jake's place." Sam said. I carefully uncurled Bella's arms from around my waist and lay her back on the bed. She started to stir, rolling over. I got up from the bed, watching her carefully, hoping she would go back to sleep. She needed rest.

"Please, don't! Please!" she suddenly screamed, and I was by her side in an instant, shaking her, trying to get her to wake up. She kept screaming though, and Sue came bursting into the room, alarm covering her face.

"Bella, wake up!" I shouted, but she continued to thrash around, screaming and crying.

"Please!" she kept on begging between her screams. I felt tears well up in my eyes, why wouldn't she wake up? My angel was hurting! Sam was on the other side of the bed, also shaking my screaming angel. Jake was also there, but the others stood back, with no idea what to do.

"Bella! Bella! Wake up honey, please! Come on baby. Its just a dream, wake up!" I begged, but she just kept screaming and begging.

"Come on Bella!" Sam yelled, but she just kept screaming, tears pouring down her face, thrashing her head around and jerking away whenever I shook her.

"Wake up!" I yelled, and suddenly she jerked up, still screaming, but with her eyes open. She collapsed back on the bed weeping. I moved to hug her, but she curled away from me. Jake, Sam and I backed away slowly, and it was like a physical pain to stand and watch her weeping slow as she gradually calmed down. I turned to the others, and saw that Charlie had joined us.

My angel was curled up with her back to us, her breathing still ragged, and her heartbeat racing.

"Bella, what's going on?" Jake barely whispered, and she only responded with another sob.

"This can't go on, Bells, you need to tell us what's wrong." Charlie sighed, and slowly walked towards her. He perched on the side of the bed, but she didn't react. She just lay there, her breathing and heartbeat slowly returning to normal.

"I can't" she finally whispered, her voice breaking slightly, causing my heart to shatter just a little more.

"Why not? We wouldn't see you any differently, I promise we will always be there for you," Embry said, cautiously stepping towards her. She rolled over to face us, and he froze, not wanting to upset her. She surprised us all by sitting up and swinging her legs out of bed. She stood up, and winced as she put weight on her sore leg.

"The doctor said not to stand on your leg. Sit down or let one of us help you" Sam said, his voice commanding, like when he was in alpha mode.

"Fine, help me to the beach then." she said, looking at Sam, but I stepped forward and scooped her into my arms before she could protest. I walked out of the room and heard the pack following me. I walked out of the house and through the reservation, moving quickly so that it only took a few minutes to reach the beach. I went over to the rocks at one end of First Beach and sat down, with her still in my arms. It was cold and I wanted to keep her warm. Plus, I really didn't ever want to let her go.

"Why here?" I asked quietly.

"Because its peaceful. I like it here." she said.

"Tell us what's wrong Bella" Jake said again, and she looked up at him briefly before turning her face to the sea.

"He was a vampire…" she said, and was cut off by me and the rest of the pack growling. A vampire had done this to her? A vampire had hurt my beautiful angel? I was shaking so hard, and I was on the verge of phasing when I felt my angel's hand upon my cheek, and heard her sweet voice reassuring me, telling me to calm down. Slowly the shaking stopped, and I smiled gratefully at her. I looked up, and saw Jake, Embry and Quil still shaking, and the others all had murderous looks on their faces.

"You believe me?" she said, and we all nodded. She just looked doubtfully at us, but carried on speaking.

"When my mum left my dad, I went to live with her in Phoenix. We were happy at first, but then she started dating this guy. I was ok with that, because it made her happy, but that all changed the first time she took him home to meet me. It was in the afternoon, and she asked him to come over and baby-sit me because she had a teacher's meeting to go to at school. Whilst she was there, he was a really nice guy, smiling and laughing and joking around with me. I liked him." she broke off, taking a deep breath before carrying on.

"As soon as my mum left, he grabbed me around the neck, strangling me slowly. It hurt so badly, and I struggled as much as I could, but he wouldn't free me. He was so strong, and solid. He didn't even seem to notice my struggling. He leaned into me and told me he was a vampire, and that I had to do exactly as he said, or he would kill me. I didn't really believe him, and he knew I didn't. So he decided to prove it to me. He grabbed my hand, and told me to act normal. Even though I didn't believe him, I was still terrified." she broke off again, shivering, from the cold or the memories, I wasn't sure.

"He took me outside, and we walked around the streets for a bit, before he pulled me into an alley and told me to wait there. He was only gone for a second, before he came back with a girl. She must have been only thirteen or something, young and terrified. He had one hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming, and one yanking her along with him. He stopped in front of me and then brutally bit into her neck. I will never forget the look on her face as he drank her blood, draining her to death. He burnt the body beyond recognition, dumping her at the end of the alley, before going back home. I followed him, not needing encouragement. I believed him then, and was truly terrified, and shocked by the casual way he had killed that poor girl. I don't think I was really understanding what was happening, it all seemed so surreal.

"He told me that my blood was more appealing to him than most, that I was his 'singer'. He said I was so tempting, but he didn't want to kill me yet. He told me that human blood improved with age, that he was going to wait a few years, wait until my blood would taste even better. I just sat there, listening but not comprehending.

"He came round most days after that, and carried on dating my mum. I couldn't tell anyone, its not like anyone would believe me, and he could kill me in an instant. He was a perfect gentleman whenever my mum was around, but whenever we were alone together he would hit me, beat me up. I have always been clumsy, so no one paid much attention to the bruises and cuts. It went on like this for months, then one day it changed. My mum told me she was popping out, would be back in an hour and he would look after me. I felt the fear set in, but I wasn't expecting what happened next." my beautiful angel had tears streaming down her face, and I wanted her to stop having to talk about this, to stop hurting. But she needed to do this, needed to get this out of her system. Breathing deeply, she continued.

"That was the first time he raped me, and it happened many more times after that. Every time it happened, I just lay there, wanting it all to end. I got very depressed and suicidal, but he never let me kill myself, saying that it would be such a waste. I lived every moment in terror, and the tiniest things could make me scream. I remember one time, in the cafeteria at school, a boy accidentally bumped into me and it took ages for me to calm down again.

"Everyone thought I was crazy, and I guess I was. He was slowly driving me insane. I was constantly in pain, physically and mentally, and yet I couldn't tell anyone. I knew that if I did he wouldn't just kill me, he would hurt my mum, my dad, and I couldn't bare to think of that happening. So I just carried on, got up after every time he beat me or raped me, used makeup to cover up the worst of the bruising, and tried to hide the pain from everyone.

"I learnt how to strap up broken ribs myself, it would be suspicious if I had to go to the emergency room too often. I had no friends at school, no one to notice that something was wrong. My mum never noticed either, but I couldn't visit Charlie. He is too perceptive, and I couldn't have hidden from him.

"Then one day, I just cracked. He had just left the house, me on the floor in my bedroom, willing myself to get up and pretend for my mum, and suddenly I gave up. I just got up and walked out, stealing one of my mum's credit cards and some cash and getting into a taxi. He must have been busy, distracted or something, because he didn't come after me. I got on a flight here, and you pretty much know the rest." she finished, and just lay there in my arms, none of us saying anything, all of us too shocked to speak.

I was too shocked to react, to shocked to be angry, too shocked to phase. It wasn't sinking in, I wasn't accepting it. I ran over the story in my mind again, and slowly I came to realise what had happened. I began to shake, the anger filling me, and I this time I knew I wouldn't be able to stop myself from phasing. I placed Bella on the sand as carefully as I could and then leapt up, only managing a few strides before I phased, sprinting along the sand and into the forest. I just had to run, to get it out of my system. My anger was so huge, so great, bigger than it had ever been before. I couldn't handle it, couldn't handle the fact that those terrible things had happened to my angel, and I just needed to escape from it all.

**BPOV**

They were all silent and frozen when I finished my telling them, and I couldn't bring myself to look at any of them. I felt Paul begin to vibrate under me, and then before I knew it I was sat down on the sand with him running away from me. The shuddering increased and then suddenly there was a wolf running where Paul had been, with shreds of fabric drifting down through the air.

I stared after him, shock written all over my features. What just happened? I hadn't realised I'd said that out loud until Sam answered me.

"Well, you see, we sort of have a secret as well." he said, and like an idiot I asked him what his secret was. It couldn't be true, but I had just seen it before my eyes. Are all the myths and horror stories true? Do all mythical creatures really exist? My mind was struggling to comprehend what had just happened, one fantasy creature was surely enough for a human to meet in a lifetime, I didn't need another.

"We are werewolves, Bella." Jake said, his voice deep and angry. "Now tell me his name, so I can find him and rip him to shreds. I am going to make him suffer for all eternity for what he did to you." he said, a deep growl coming from his chest.

"His name was J-James" I stuttered, and that one word, that name, made me break down into helpless sobbing. They would all hate me, they wouldn't want to be with me now they knew what a horrible, broken person I was. My sobs grew louder, and I felt Sam wrap me up in his arms and rock me back and forth, telling me it would be ok. His arms didn't feel quite right, they didn't feel as protective and comforting as Paul's had. Paul. Would he be ok?

"Is Paul going to be ok?" I managed to choke out between sobs.

"Paul will be fine." I hadn't realised that Embry was sitting next to me, and jumped slightly when he answered. "We tend to phase when we get angry," he explained.

I just nodded. Werewolves. Wow. I giggled slightly at the way I had managed to escape from one mythical creature into the world of another. Only I would be able to do that.

"Sorry," a deep voice said, and I looked up quickly, my eyes locking with Paul's. "I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry if I scared you," he said, his eyes deeply apologetic.

"Its ok Paul, I'm ok." I said, and he walked towards me, pulling me out of Sam's arms and into his.

"Listen, what happened to you is horrendous, and I am so angry with that guy, I will find him one day, and kill him slowly and as painfully as I can, but it doesn't make me hate you. None of us see you badly, we all still love you. Me more than others" somehow, he seemed to know what was scaring me, he seemed to know exactly what I wanted to hear.

"What do you mean, you more than others?" I asked, confused.

"Werewolves have this thing called imprinting. When we first set eyes on our soul mate, we instantly fall in love with them, true love. It is incredibly deep, and it hurts to be away from the person you imprint on, you would be anything for that person, do anything for them, you would die to save that person and love them unconditionally for all eternity." he said, and there was such a look of love in his eyes as he looked down at me that I instantly understood.

"You imprinted on me?" I asked, but I already knew the answer. He just nodded.

"Yes, and I love you Isabella."

**A/N Thank you for all of the reviews, author alerts, story alerts and favourites, they really do mean a lot to me! As always, please take a minute to tell me what you think of this story! I would really appreciate it! Relwot xxx**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N This chapter is a bit sorter than the others, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! **

**BPOV**

I just stared at him. Did he just tell me he loved me? Wait, why was I bothering about that? It was tiny compared to the whole werewolf thing, and the me spilling my secret to a whole group of guys who I barely knew! What had I done? Why did I have to let myself open up like that? I stared at Paul, and his eyes had such deep love in them that I really didn't doubt him. But I struggled to believe him at the same time. He shouldn't love me, not now he knew how broken, how worthless, how destroyed I was. I don't deserve him.

I felt tears well up in my eyes yet again. I cried so much now, I always seemed to be crying, or on the brink of crying these days. I wanted to keep a hold on myself, but I just didn't have the strength. I let go and the silent tears streamed down my face. All of the guys came closer, wanting to comfort me, but I didn't want their pity.

I struggled in Paul's arms, trying to break away, but his grip was like a vice on my arms. I started to struggle harder, and I heard myself begging him to let me go. That made his grip loosen enough for me to escape and I began to run along the beach. How could I? If I hadn't told them, I could have had them as friends. Now they would never be friends with me, the stupid, hurt, broken girl. They would just pity me, try and comfort me and then give up on me.

I slowed to a walk, and heard footsteps behind me. I turned and saw Jake following me, but I just yelled at him to leave me alone. I didn't want to see him. I didn't want to see any of them. Pity was the one thing I wanted the least. The footsteps stopped, then started again but this time walking away from me. I reached the end of the beach and turned towards the forest. I looked back at the _pack,_ I suppose you could call them, and they seemed to be having a heated discussion. They had probably already given up on me, or forgotten me. I turned away and stepped in amongst the trees, liking the feeling of shelter and security they provided.

I didn't walk far, only a few meters in before I sat on the floor and began to rock myself back and forth. I decided to take everything slowly, just work through it all. So I had told them all what happened. There were now two possibilities, they could either try and comfort me and pity me, or they would just forget me and go on with their lives as if I never existed. By the looks of things, they were going for option two.

That was fine, I kept telling myself, but I couldn't lie to myself. It hurt me, badly, deeply, the fact that they didn't want me in their lives. I put a fake, overly bright smile on my face and told myself that I would start school soon and make other friends, friends that would never find out what had happened to me. If I didn't tell them, then maybe they would stick with me for a bit.

Then there was the whole werewolf thing. Why couldn't I just have one mythical creature in my life? No one should have to cope with more than that. Hell, no one should have to cope with having any mythical creatures in their life! But I found that I was more accepting of the fact that werewolves existed. I guess the existence of vampires made it more believable that other fantasy creatures existed.

And imprinting. Wow. Paul imprinted on me. Paul loved me. How was that possible? How could he love me? I barely knew him and he barely knew me. He couldn't love me. It wasn't possible. And if he loved me at first sight and imprinted, how come I didn't return his feelings? Surely his gorgeous face should initiate some reaction in me if this was true? I froze. I called him gorgeous. Why did I do that? I was confused and scared, trying to get a grip on everything that had just happened and failing miserably.

I just wanted to go home, to cry, to be hugged tight in my father's arms and for all this pain and hurt to go away, for none of this to have happened.

Yeah, like that was going to happen.

**SamPOV**

"Bella" Paul cried out to her retreating figure, but she either didn't hear him or just ignored him. Jake got up and began to run after her, but she just yelled at him to go away. He stopped and turned back to us, pain etched into his russet skin. He loved her as a brother loves his sister, and her telling him to go away had hurt him deeply. I felt sympathy for him.

"How could anyone do that to her? How could anyone hurt her so badly?" Embry murmured.

"It wasn't someone, it was a leech. No surprise." Quil said, his voice low and deadly. We all growled, our anger focused entirely on that bastard, that cruel, heartless bastard. Some of the boys began to shake, but I told them all to calm down. Suddenly it hit me. I had completely forgotten in all this drama. We had found the scent of a leech on our land.

"There was a leech here this morning! We have to find it! We can't just let it run around loose. Leave her, she wants to be on her own." I barked out, instantly taking control of the situation and Paul growled angrily at me. I knew how it felt, to see the one you imprinted on hurt, being unable to help them. It was like that for me when I had hurt Emily from phasing to close to her. I would never forgive myself for that. But it was obvious that going after Bella would only make her worse. She needed time to herself.

"Wait, what if its James?" Embry piped up. We all stared at him in shock. How could we not have thought of that? Of course it would be that bastard, that stupid leech. We didn't get random vampires on our land, nomads. They stayed away because this territory was taken by the Cullens. It would be him, he was the only one with a reason to come here.

"God damn it! We need to find him, before he gets Bella!" Paul yelled, and phased so quickly even I couldn't see it happening, and I had super wolf vision. I phased as well, and knew the others were following suit.

_Right, Paul, Embry and I will go back to where we first came across the trail, the rest of you, follow Bella, but don't let her know you are there. Just keep her safe. _I instructed, using my alpha command to ensure they followed my orders.

_I'm protecting Bella! _Paul almost yelled.

_Listen, I know you want to follow her, but you would be distracted by her if you did, and wouldn't concentrate on keeping an eye out for James. You would get caught up in her, and put her and the rest of us at risk. Now come on, we need to find him! _I thought, and I could tell Paul was agreeing with me, even though it hurt him. I told him to concentrate on the task at hand, and that Bella would be fine.

We ran off, to the edge of the forest just outside the rez. I picked up the scent, horrible and sickly sweet, but it was fading. He hadn't come back to the rez at least, and that thought comforted me slightly. We followed it along the road for a few miles, before it suddenly twisted into the forest.

We picked up the speed, the scent was getting stronger. All of a sudden. The scent increased ten fold, we were getting closer. I growled and began to run even faster. I heard Paul begging for her to be ok, and I felt his pain slicing through me. I tried to imagine how it would feel if it was Emily we were running to save, but I couldn't imagine it, it was too painful.

I heard growling and hissing in the distance, and was now full on sprinting. Then I heard a girl scream.

**PPOV**

I couldn't think past the painful ache that was throbbing where my heart should be. I had to find that leech, James, had to get to her before he got to Bella. I knew my thoughts were relatively safe, everyone was distracted, no one was concentrating on each other's thoughts. I ran along the road, desperate to find him, to rip him slowly to shreds, make him suffer for everything he did to my beautiful Bella.

The scent was weak, old, but it increased in intensity ever so slightly as we followed it. Suddenly it turned into the forest, and I growled deep in my chest, fear lacing through me. Bella was in this forest, she wasn't safe. I picked up my pace, and felt the others speed up next to me. The scent was still weak, but suddenly it increased in its intensity, we were getting closer, and it was in the direction of my angel.

I was now full on sprinting, going as fast as I could, my breath coming in ragged pants. There was a silent prayer running on repeat through my mind, drowning out the others thoughts. _Please let her be safe, please let her be safe._

I heard my beautiful, beautiful Bella scream, and the sound cut right through my heart. Suddenly, the cream was cut off, and I heard more growling and hissing. I pushed myself up to and beyond my limit, racing faster than I ever had before. I reached a clearing, and what I saw made me freeze, unable to move any closer.

**BPOV**

I stood up, wanting to walk for a while. Walking always cleared my head. I began to wander deeper in amongst the trees, allowing my thoughts to slowly mull over the events of the morning. I tried not to dwell on anything, wanting to pretend it hadn't happened. I was always like this, a coward, preferring to run away, to ignore things rather than facing up to them.

The trees came closer together, and it felt like a strangely comforting embrace. I smiled slightly. It felt different to how the forest had felt when I first arrived here. The trees had felt threatening then, but now they just felt cosy and reassuring.

A twig snapped under my foot, making me jump slightly, but I just shook my head at my stupidity. Another twig cracked, and this time I just ignored it. Then another one, this one definitely not from my footsteps. The cracks were coming closer, and I could now make out the sound of footsteps, light but not silent. They were somewhere to my left, and I turned to face them, starting to feel afraid.

I cursed the trees now, they were blocking my vision, I couldn't see anything, see what it was that was making the ominous sounds. I peered around, trying to make out the source of the footsteps, but could see nothing.

"Isabella," a cold, beautiful voice rang out clearly through the trees, and I immediately felt as though my throat was closing in from the pressure of the fear, and I gasped, struggling to breathe. I felt a scream well up in my constricted throat, and somehow it pushed through, past my lips. The sound of the scream deafened me, but it didn't last.

In a second, James had his hand pressed over my mouth and he lifted me with his other hand clasped around my neck, swinging me around so that I could see the wolves ranged around the small clearing he had dragged me into. Out of the corner of my eye I saw more wolves sprint into the clearing and freeze when they saw me. Briefly my eyes locked with wolf-Paul's eyes, before I felt his hand constrict tighter around my neck, suffocating me into unconsciousness.

**JPOV**

I watched in pain as he tightened his grip around her neck until she passed out. I couldn't do anything, and it was taking every ounce of my willpower not to jump at him and rip him to shreds. He would kill Bella instantly if any of us tried anything. All of us wolves were so tense that our muscles began to ache and shake.

I glanced over at Paul, and even in wolf form his face looked like he was about to collapse in on himself from the pain. I felt a stab of sympathy, before the bloodsucker gained my attention again.

"Now, I am going to leave your land, don't worry. All I want is this little human. I'm sure you don't mind?" he asked, and we all responded with a growl. Everyone's thoughts were in complete turmoil, panic, worry, pain, sympathy, a thousand emotions running through each of us. I shook my head slightly, trying to concentrate, but the thoughts were overwhelming me.

_One of us needs to phase so we can talk to him. Any volunteers? _I heard Sam, and I instantly thought I would do it. I phased back, and was grateful of the silence in my head.

"Get your filthy hands off her!" I growled, my voice sounding deadly even to my ears.

"Why? What is a human girl worth to you? Why do you care about her?" he said, his head cocked to one side slightly.

"She means everything to me and my pack. Give her back or we will rip you to shreds!" I almost yelled and he just grinned evilly at me.

"You know what? I don't think I will. I mean, I do enjoy her company so much!" he said before he disappeared. Wow, he's fast I thought.

All of the wolves leapt after him, and I phased too, desperate to try and save Bella from the torture and pain he would undoubtedly put her through. I listened to Paul's thoughts and they were just a constantly repeated chant of _Bella._

**A/N There you go! I hopefully will be able to update more often, as school breaks up for Christmas holidays soon. Thank you so much for all the favorites and alerts and reviews! As always, please review. It really does motivate me to write and update quicker! Relwot xxx**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Thank you, thank you, thank you for the wonderful response to this story! I love you all! I am sorry for the gap between updates, but I have run out of pre-written chapters, so I am writing this as I go. Which does mean that any suggestions or ideas can be easily incorporated into this story. Enjoy!**

**BPOV**

My head was throbbing terribly, and I couldn't think straight. Where was I? What happened? I couldn't remember anything. Then slowly, painfully, I felt the memories beginning to trickle in, I felt them seeping through, and once they started there was no stopping them. The pain, James, wolves, imprinting, running, forest. The list went on and on.

I had been stupid and naïve, thinking that James wouldn't come and find me, thinking that I had really escaped from him. There was no escaping him. He would always come after me always find me unless he died. I almost snorted. James wasn't about to die. He was a fucking vampire. I shocked myself by swearing, I never swore.

Slowly, carefully I peeled my eyes open, but it didn't make a difference. It was dark, completely and utterly dark, and I couldn't see a thing. I rolled onto my back, wincing as I rolled over fresh bruises. It hurt if I breathed too deeply, which meant that I had probably broken a rib. I couldn't find it in me to care. There was no point, no reason to go on living. Charlie had Sue now, and Renee would be fine. Phil, her brother, would look after her. Sure, I hope they would miss me, but they would get through it.

And Jake had all of his friends now, his pack. I shivered slightly. Werewolves. Imprinting. How is it that Paul could be in love with me? He didn't know me at all. I didn't know him. And anyway, I probably wouldn't have it in me to love him back, even if I tried. I was too scared, too broken to love anyone.

I heard the faint sound of a door opening, and dull light flooded into the room as overhead lights began to flicker on, allowing me to see where I was. I was lying on the floor of some sort of warehouse, with towers of boxes stacked around the room. It was cold and I shivered slightly. The floor was plain concrete, and I felt my bones digging into the ground painfully. I forgot the pain when I saw James though.

He sauntered around from behind a stack of boxes, a huge smirk on his face. I felt the terror welling up inside me and I almost screamed at the sight of him. Almost. The only thing that made me remain quiet was the fact that he wanted me to scream. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. He crouched down beside me and stroked one freakishly cold hand across my cheek.

"You left me. I don't like it when people run away. I am very, very cross with you, Isabella." he smirked again, before bringing his hand back and slapping me across the face.

**PPOV**

I ran faster than I ever had before, following that horrendous leech's trail. He had my angel, and I wouldn't rest until he was dead, ripped to shreds and burnt. I could barely think past the red hot anger that coursed through my veins, I could barely function beyond my one goal. Save Bella. I was vaguely aware of the thoughts of the rest of the pack, but I wasn't paying them any attention, until I heard Sam's distinctive, will-crushing alpha voice commanding us all to stop.

I tried so hard, harder than I ever had before to keep running, but the power of the alpha was greater than anything else. The others all stood around panting, waiting for Sam to continue, but also watching me. I felt my legs buckling under the power of Sam's command, and I collapsed, my thoughts so confused that none of the others could understand them. I was pushing so hard against the alpha bonds, I had to get to my angel, I had to save Bella from that monster. Why was Sam making us stop?

_We need to plan. We can't just barge in there, he would kill Bella instantly. _I heard Sam's thoughts, but they weren't making sense. Why weren't we going after the filthy bloodsucker? Why were we here when he was hurting Bella?

**JPOV**

I saw Paul collapse, his thoughts in complete and utter turmoil, and I pitied him. I was hurting, but not as badly as him. It was, after all, his imprint.

_We need to plan. We can't just barge in there, he would kill Bella instantly. _I heard Sam, and we all agreed with him except for Paul, who wasn't listening, wasn't comprehending the logic. He was struggling to get up, fighting with everything he had to break the alpha command, and we all gazed at him sorrowfully. Then, to our shock, he stood up and began to slowly drag himself in the direction that the leech had gone with Bella.

_Paul, stop! _Sam yelled, and the power of another alpha command was too much for Paul, and he froze. Suddenly his mind went blank, completely silent, and we all stared at him, terrified for him.

_Ok. What's the plan. _he thought, and then began to chant Bella's name in his head, like a mantra. He understood that although he wanted to charge after her so badly, this would hurt her more than help her.

_We need to invoke the treaty. We cant do this alone, we need more people. The Cullen's will help if we ask them, He won't be able to sense them approaching as clearly as he can sense us, and he wont be expecting other vampires. Paul, Jake, phase and come with me to visit out neighbours. The rest of you, keep on his trail, but don't get too close._

I phased back instantly, and saw Paul take his human form as well.

"Come on, hurry!" Paul almost yelled, yanking on his shorts and sprinting in the direction of the Cullens' house. I couldn't believe it. We were going to ask _leeches_ to help us. But if it saved Bella, then I would gladly do this a thousand times over. I just needed to get her back safe.

**SPOV**

The Cullens were our only option, and I was willing to beg them to help us. I couldn't stand the thought of Bella having to go through more pain, she didn't deserve this. I ran after Paul, with Jacob beside me, and we reached the Cullens' house in a matter of minutes. I knocked on the door, but it was already being opened.

The bronze haired one, the one who could read minds, was already telling his family what was going on, and Paul, Jake and I were filling in the blanks.

"Please, help us." Paul said, and by the looks of things he was only holding himself together by a thread.

The Cullens all glanced at each other, before the tall blond one, their leader, turned back to us.

"I can't speak for the rest of my family, but I will help." he smiled cautiously at us, and I gave a tight-lipped smile back.

"We will all help," the tiny, pixie-like one piped up. I threw a questioning glance her way. How come she got to speak for the rest of them?

"I can see the future, but not yours or the girl's. I can't see what the outcome of this will be. Come on, lets go." she answered me.

"The rest of our pack is tailing him, but we can't get to close. You will be the only ones that can surprise him. Once you go in, we will follow." I instructed, before phasing and sprinting off, with Jake and Paul running in wolf form on my right and the Cullens on my left. Paul was still chanting Bella's name in his head, but he was more focused, more in control of himself now.

It hurt too much for me to even imagine what I would be feeling if it was Emily we were running to save, and I tried to ignore the pain Paul was going through, not wanting to be distracted.

"Stop here, me and my family will go on ahead." the leader spoke up again, and I heard the rest of the pack coming up behind us. Their thoughts were in complete chaos, and I was finding it hard to think. The sickly sweet smell of the vampires wasn't helping me either. I phased back into human form, yanking on my shorts and then just standing still, enjoying the relative peace of having only my own chaotic thoughts pulsing through my mind.

"I am going to get a little closer, follow on behind them. I will phase when I want the rest of you to come and help, but stay here until I do." I instructed the pack, and watched as Jake and Seth stepped in front of Paul to make sure he didn't run off.

I jogged after the Cullens, praying for Paul's sake that Bella was ok. Or maybe just praying for all of us. We had all become attached to Bella in some way, despite the fact that we all barely knew her. It was probably the wolf gene, the gene that made us want to protect our own. She was one of us now, and I would do all I could to get her home safe.

**RosaliePOV**

I didn't know this girl, this Bella, but I felt my heart breaking for her. I knew what it was like, being raped and beaten, I knew how much it ripped a girl apart. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, and the painful memories of my own ordeal surfaced in my mind, making me wince and I imagined what could be happening to Bella right now. We were walking silently along quiet streets, following that monster's trail.

Edward thought we were monsters, Carlisle thought we were monsters, in fact, all of us thought that we were a kind of monster. But I realised now that we weren't. We were positive angels compared to this fucking bastard, he was the true definition of a monster. Humans who did this, who beat and rapped defenceless people were monsters, but James took it to a whole new level. How could he? She didn't have a hope against him, and he knew it, yet he continued to abuse her.

I hadn't heard the full story, but I knew I knew enough to make my long dead heart ache with her pain and my non-existent blood boil with pure anger and hatred.

"He is in that warehouse, listen." Carlisle said, his voice so quiet that even I barely heard him. I listened carefully, and heard a faint whimpering followed by a muffled crash. I took off again, desperate to help her, my family following on behind me.

I crept closer to the huge warehouse, not breathing, as silent as was possible. I signalled for my family to follow me as I carefully grasped the door handle. I could hear painful sobs on the other side of the door, and his harsh, cruel voice mock-comforting her.

I tightened my grip on the door and then ripped it right off its frame, leaping through the door and heading straight over to him.

**SPOV**

I heard the sound of a door being ripped open, and I picked up my speed instantly, phasing on the fly. I yelled in my mind for the others to come now, and leapt through the broken door frame into a huge warehouse. The sight before me was horrid.

Bella lay in a curled up heap, naked and sobbing, blood pooling around her waist and head. The pixie and the blond girl were crouched beside her, and I used my teeth to pull the t-shirt that was strapped around my leg free, throwing it over her body before running in the direction of the growls and roars. I thought that they would have taken him down by now, but I was shocked when I rounded the corner and saw thirteen vampires ranged around the warehouse, with the Cullens fighting for all their worth.

I leapt into the fray, and was instantly set upon by three of the filthy bloodsuckers.

**PPOV**

I leapt through the door and almost barged into the blond girl carrying my beautiful Bella, bleeding and broken in her arms.

"She will be fine. Now go!" she yelled shoving me into the room. I whipped round and came face to face with a huge battle. I was about to leap into the fray, when I heard rushed footsteps behind me. I whirled round, and leapt onto the leech, the monster that had caused Bella all this pain and suffering. I was vaguely aware of a sudden silence behind me, distracting me for a moment, just long enough for him to throw me off him.

I slammed into a stack of boxes, but felt nothing as I charged towards him again, going for a full, head-on charge before turning to the left at the last moment, ripping off his arm as I went. He spun round, and used his other arm to toss me across the room, crashing into a wall. I felt some ribs crack, but I didn't care. I leapt up yet again, running at him with Jake, Quil and Embry joining in as well. I grabbed his other arm, ripping it off, feeling a strange sense of satisfaction at his pained yells and screeches as me and my brothers ripped him slowly to shreds.

I saved his head for last, fastening my teeth around his neck and ripping it off, before dropping it to the floor and running after my angel. I found her, sobbing quietly on the sidewalk, not far away form the warehouse. I ran over, and crouched beside her, begging for her to be ok. I nuzzled her carefully, and I heard the blond girl emit a low growl. I growled back, and then lay down, cradling her head in my paws.

The blond seemed to realise that I meant no harm, and returned to trying to stop the bleeding from a cut in her stomach. It looked deep and painful, and felt so angry at him. But he was gone. He would never hurt her again. I would keep her safe forever.

The leader, I think his name was Carlisle, ran out of the warehouse and crouched next to Bella. He had managed to get a first aid box from somewhere, and he was carefully cleaning an bandaging her wounds.

"If we take her to the hospital, we will have to think up a cover story. The other option is for her to stay at someone's house, and I will keep a watch on her," he said, and I was confused for a second before I remembered he was a doctor. I nodded my head, but he didn't understand. I got up carefully and phased back, yanking on my shorts.

"She can stay at her own house. Charlie knows about us, he would want her to be with him." Carlisle nodded, and carefully picked her up, but I growled, stepping forward and taking her from him, cradling her in my arms. She had lost consciousness, and I briefly wondered how unhealthy it was for someone to faint as much as she did. But she wasn't exactly in normal circumstances.

I walked at a steady, human pace behind Carlisle and the blond girl, stopping when I smelt smoke. I turned around and saw the whole warehouse on fire, flames licking up to the sky, as if hell had burst through the earth's surface and was trying to reach heaven. The rest of the Cullens and the pack came running towards us, reassuring us that they had killed them all, and that we needed to get out of here fast. We wouldn't want to be caught right now.

I started to run, with Bella still cradled in my arms. I heard Sam on the phone to Collin, then Charlie, telling them what had happened and to expect us there soon. I was running through the forest, terrified for Bella. She wouldn't stop bleeding! I could feel her blood trickling down my bare chest, and pressed onto the wound in her stomach, trying to stench the endless red river. She was getting paler and paler, her lips the same colour as her cheeks, and felt all of the others gazing worriedly at us.

"Is he with Bella?" I heard one of the Cullens ask, and Jake explained imprinting to him. I wasn't really listening, not really paying attention, and I was shocked when I found myself running along the streets of the rez, bursting into Charlie's house, with the rest of them cramming in behind me. I lay her down on the couch, propping her head up on the pillow.

Collin and Carlisle set to work quickly, taking her top off and removing the blood-soaked bandages. I could barely breath when I saw how bad the gash was. He must have used a knife or something, it was deep and swollen, blood trickling steadily from it.

**SamPOV**

Paul looked a mess, with Bella's blood caked across his chest, dirt sprayed up his legs from the run, his hair a complete mess and an expression of such horror and suffering on his face that it was painful to look at him.

We all heard when Bella's heart stopped.

We all heard the door being ripped to shreds as Paul phased halfway out the house.

**A/N Please, please don't kill me for that ending! And don't jump to conclusions! I hope to have the next chapter up soon. Please review and tell me what you thought of this. Relwot xxx**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N This is a bit shorter than my other chapters, and it isn't one of my best chapters. Sorry. Also, Leah isn't a wolf, but she knows about the pack.**

**JPOV**

Absolute silence filled the room for a second, a silence without the sound of Bella's heartbeat, before Carlisle and Collin leapt into action, pressing rhythmically on her chest, breathing for her, trying so hard to keep her alive.

She began to shudder, and I heard the faint, fluttering sound of her heart starting again, the most perfect and beautiful sound that I had ever heard. Everyone, vampires and werewolves together, let out a breath, one we hadn't realise we had been holding.

She was alive! I felt like leaping for joy, but I wasn't ready for that yet. Blood was still pooling around her waist, and I glanced over at the leeches, who were gathered in a corner. The tall, blond man looked like he was in serious pain, and he glanced at the pixie-like one before sprinting out of the room. I guess the blood was too much for him.

I turned my gaze back to Bella, only vaguely aware when the rest of the vampires left except for Carlisle and the blond girl. Bella was so pale, she looked so weak and broken, and Collin and Carlisle were starting to get really worried. She just wouldn't stop bleeding, the strong scent of her blood heavy in the air. I stepped forward and crouched beside her, taking one of her hands in mine. Her warm, clammy hand. She started shaking, started to really vibrate.

"Sam!" I almost yelled, and I looked at him. By the look on his face he had come to the same conclusion as I had. He ran forward scooped her out of the doctors' arms and sprinting outside into the forest, with the rest of us following. The Cullen's were all gathered outside, and they ran along too, with Collin and Carlisle yelling at us, not knowing what was going on.

Sam carefully lay Bella on the ground, and now she was really shaking. All of the werewolves seemed to understand what was going on, but the vampire's still didn't.

"What are you doing?!" Carlisle hissed at us. "She needs to stay inside, her wounds will get infected! Do you want her to die?"

"Wait," was all Sam said, before turning back to Bella's shaking form. I heard her bones snapping, and all of us winced, before an explosion of fur and clothes occurred before our eyes. Where Bella had been moments before, there now lay a beautiful wolf. Her fur seemed to shimmer an flicker, a thousand different shades coalescing in the most brilliant gold.

The vampires all gasped, leaping back from her, hissing and growling.

"How is this possible?" Carlisle questioned, but Collin was already setting to work. The gash on her side was still there, not healing like it was supposed to when she became a wolf, although the blood flow was beginning to slow down a little. She was still unconscious, not stirring as Collin began to try and bandage the wound again.

**PPOV**

No, no, no, no, NO! I roared, sprinting away, feeling as if my very being, my soul, was being ripped apart. The sound of silence, as her heart stopped beating, that was what would haunt me forever more. Why did this have to happen? She hadn't deserved any of this! I roared again, pushing myself on. I crashed through a river, raced amongst the trees, trying to run away from the pain.

I stopped suddenly, felt the strangest of sensations, a vague, faint pulling back in the direction I had come from. I had to see her, even if she was dead. I had to lay my eyes upon her beautiful face once again, then I would be free, free to end my useless, empty life.

I began to run again, going so fast that humans probably wouldn't have been able to see me. I was fast approaching the rez, when I heard a sound. Or wait, it wasn't a sound, it was a thought. But not one I recognised. I could easily recognise the thoughts of all my pack members, but this was different, a new sound. I felt the ache inside me ease slightly, which confused me. I turned, heading towards the direction the thought had come from.

Again, I heard it, a faint whimpering, as if someone was in pain.

"How is this possible?" that was Carlisle, the doctor speaking. I ran faster, and burst into a clearing. The vampires and the wolves were all gathered in a loose semi-circle around a wolf. A beautiful, stunning, gorgeous wolf. Bella. I knew who it was instantly, but her mind was blank, except for the occasional whimper of pain. All eyes were now focused on me, as I gazed at her. I listened to the faint beat of her heart, and it truly was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard.

I walked slowly across the clearing, ignoring the stares I was getting, before laying down carefully beside her. I curled up, supporting her muzzle in my paws, and lay my head over hers protectively. I saw that the gash was still there on her side, and I winced. It looked really painful. Clean cut though, so he probably used a knife.

I let my thoughts wander, barely aware that Collin and Carlisle had set back to work on her.

"Can you hear any thoughts?" Embry asked, and I shook my head at him. She really was completely out of it, her mind was blank except for the occasional whimper. I kept my eyes on her, drinking in her beauty. It was strange, I was still attracted to her even though she was a wolf.

"They look perfect together, silver and gold." I heard one of the boys mumble, and I smiled slightly. I guess we would look good together. Suddenly my mind was filled with pain, with memories of that leech slapping her, of him slicing her stomach with a huge knife, and him hitting her again and again. She was sobbing in her mind, and I murmured comforts in my mind, telling her that she was fine, that he was dead, that he no longer come after her.

_How can I hear you? What's happening? Why can't I move? _her thoughts bombarded me, so many questions.

_You have phased into a wolf, I don't know how or why, and you were pretty badly beaten up. All us wolves can hear each others thoughts. _I explained, and her thoughts mulled over this for a while.

_I-is he really dead? _she said, fear lacing her voice as she thought of him.

_Yes, _I thought, and replayed the memory of his death in my head. She relaxed at that, and then her beautiful eyes blinked open, locking onto mine. I honestly expected her to imprint on me, but no feelings changed, she didn't think of me any differently.

_Do you feel anything? _I asked, already knowing the answer. _No, should I?_

I just stood up, ran into the trees and phased back to a human, hearing her calling my name in her thoughts just before she was cut off. I pulled on my shorts and jogged back into the clearing. I looked at her, not making eye contact, but thankful when I saw the wound in her side starting to heal. I looked away, avoiding the curious stares I was getting.

"She is fine. Sam, you should probably phase, answer her questions and help her phase back." I said, still not making eye contact with anyone.

"Don't you want to do that?" Sam asked me.

"No!" I snapped back, before walking off. How could she not imprint on me? Maybe I was mistaken, maybe I didn't imprint properly on her. Maybe I was wrong. Yes, that's right, I thought, I hadn't actually imprinted on her, it was just a stupid little crush that would pass in a while. I walked through the rez, slamming open my door and running up the stairs, collapsing on my bed.

But I still felt that strange pull, and I did feel as if I truly loved her. But imprinting was when you found the person that was perfect for you, so if she was perfect for me, then I should be perfect for her. Apparently not. She would probably find someone better, imprint on him, and then I would be left, forgotten. I needed to get out of here. If I left, then she would be free to find someone, free to be with her proper mate, whoever that may be.

And so I ran away.

* * *

**BPOV**

I waited amongst the trees for Leah to arrive with some clothes, huddled in a ball, naked, confused, and shocked. I had barely come to terms with the fact that werewolves existed and now all of a sudden I was one?

And then there was Paul. I had no idea what I had done wrong. He was thinking muddled thoughts based around imprinting, then he phased back, told Sam to help me out and ran away.

What did I do? I was distracted from my thoughts by the arrival of Leah. She handed me shorts and a t-shirt silently then turned away whilst I pulled them on. I stood up and was shocked by my height. I must have grown a few inches, and it felt strange. But I also felt more stable, despite my new height, and I felt stronger.

I walked after Leah, her silence slightly disturbing me. She just lead the way to a pretty house, one that looked as if it had come straight out of a fairytale, with white walls, a red door and a perfect little garden out of the front. She walked inside without knocking, and I followed her, feeling a little nervous. All of the boys were there, and I walked into the corner, scared of them.

They were just so _big_, they made the spacious room look cramped and tiny, filling it up to the brim. I wasn't so helpless anymore, I could feel it, but I still felt intimidated. If they decided to attack me, I wouldn't stand a chance, there were too many of them. I shuddered slightly at the thought, but tried to dismiss it. I could trust them, I was sure. My conscious brain understood that, but the instincts that had been driven home by James over the years of abuse were still there, and I flinched slightly as Jake approached me.

He saw, and was quick to back up. "Listen Bells, I promise, I won't hurt you. None of us will. We just want to help." he said, a pained expression on his face. It hurt me, the fact that I was hurting one of my best and oldest friends. I took a deep breath and stepped forward, walking towards him slowly, trying to calm my erratic heart beat, knowing that they could all hear it.

They were all watching me, nervous and curious to see what I was doing. After what felt like an eternity, I was standing in front of Jake, and I cautiously wrapped my arms around his huge waist, his skin feeling almost cool against mine. He froze for a second, before wrapping his own arms around me, pulling me closer to him. That was when I began to sob.

I didn't want this, I didn't want to be a monster, I just wanted to be normal, to not have to live in this world where all these mythical creatures existed. I just wanted to be human. My sobs were coming harder now, and I realised that I just needed to let go, get it all out of my system. Jake carefully lifted me, then sat down on the sofa, with me curled into his chest, tears rolling constantly down my cheeks.

Jake just rocked me back and forth, mumbling wordless comforts in my ear, and strangely, I felt safe in his arms. I missed this feeling, this secure, comfy feeling. I had lived in fear for so long, and now he was gone. He was really, really gone. He would never come back for me, I was safe at last. This thought finally made the tears begin to slow, and eventually stop. I uncurled myself slightly and wiped my hands cross my cheeks, trying to clean myself up a bit.

"You ok now?" Jake asked, smiling down at me. I nodded, then turned to Sam, who was apparently the Alpha of our pack. Our pack. I was already considering myself a member of it.

"What happened with Paul?" I asked, really wanting to know what I had done wrong.

"I don't know. Did he think anything before he phased back?" he asked.

"He mumbled something about imprinting, that was all." I said, and looks of understanding passed over all of their faces.

"Did you feel anything when you looked at him, after you became a wolf?" Sam asked, and I shook my head. I hadn't felt anything unusual.

"That explains it. See, Paul imprinted on you, but apparently you didn't imprint back." He explained, and understanding washed through me. Paul had expected me to imprint on him, but it hadn't happened. He was probably doubting his own imprint now, thinking that we weren't 'destined to be together'. Maybe we weren't, maybe he really didn't imprint on me, and it was all a misunderstanding.

"Oh" was all I said, followed by a huge yawn.

"Right, you need to rest, you have been through a lot today. Tomorrow, we will take you through the wolf one-oh-one" Sam said, and Jake scooped me up.

"Can she stay here? I don't trust her around Charlie, she might loose her temper." Jake said, and Sam nodded. So I guess this was his house. I was already starting to fall asleep, only vaguely aware of being placed in a bed and having sheets tucked around me.

"Goodnight" Jake whispered and I just snuggled deeper down, letting the darkness of sleep engulf me.

**A/N Hope you enjoyed this one! Again, sorry that it is a bit short, but I wanted to end it there. And don't worry, Paul isn't gone for good, he will be coming back. Please take a moment to tell me what you think of this story, point out any mistakes (I have no Beta) or give me any suggestions. Thank you to everyone for their wonderful support! Relwot xxx**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N Sorry for the lack of updates recently, but with Christmas and New Year and exam revision, I really haven't had time. I will probably be slow updating for the next 3-4 weeks, but I will try my hardest, I promise.**

**BPOV**

I woke up feeling fantastic and refreshed. I stretched my arms out, and for the first time in a long time I didn't feel stiff and sore. I looked at my arms and legs, under my shirt, nothing. No bruises, no swelling, no pain. I had grown used to the pain, I had to. Now I was free. I fell back against the pillows, snuggling deeper into the blanket. I was so comfortable, I never wanted to get up. Sadly that didn't appear to be an option.

"Time to get up Bella!" Jake burst into my room. I groaned, pushing deeper into the bed, praying for him to just disappear.

"Come on. The pack will be here soon. We are going to teach you how to be a wolf!" He said, and I almost hated him for being such a sunny person.

"I have already been a wolf. I don't need lessons." I grumbled, but I sat up anyway.

"Yeah, but we need to tell you the legends, show you the borders, help you learn how to control your phasing. Come on." he said, before leaving me in peace. I stretched again, and swung my legs out of bed. I stood up, and was shocked by my newfound height. I think I must have grown again whilst I slept.

I walked around upstairs a bit until I managed to find the shower, and took my time, letting the water soothe me. I hadn't had a truly enjoyable shower in such a long time, I always had cuts and bruises that stung and hurt under the spray. I washed my hair, which seemed to be a richer brunette shade, and carefully cleaned every inch of my body. I don't know why I bothered, I would be running around in the woods all day as a wolf probably, but I just loved feeling clean.

I stepped out the shower, drying myself off and wrapping a towel around me. I walked back into my bedroom, and saw some clothes laying on the bed. I pulled on the plain shorts and tee-shirt, hunting around the room until I found a hairbrush. I pulled it through my hair, surprised that it didn't seem to be too tangled like it normally was. I finally turned to the mirror, looking at myself for the first time in months.

I generally avoided my reflection before, scared of seeing the bruises, scared of seeing the pathetic excuse for a girl staring back at me. My eyes looked dull, but not completely dead as I was sure they had looked before. My hair looked healthier, I had bright white teeth, and my face seemed to have matured and grown slightly more attractive, with the proportions of my features fitting together better than they had before. My legs were longer, and I wasn't so pale anymore. My skin was more russet coloured, but not quite as much as the boys. I pulled up the tee-shirt and was surprised to see the very faint lines of a six pack, not as pronounced as the rest of the packs' but still there.

I headed downstairs, hearing the sound of lots of voices. The pack was here. I walked into the kitchen to find them all sitting around the table, stuffing their mouths with food as if this was their last meal. it was slightly repulsive the way they ate, and I promised myself that, werewolf or not, I would never eat like an animal.

"Bella! Hi, my name is Emily. I'm Sam's fiancée. Come and eat with me over here." I turned to the woman and was shocked when I saw the scars that raked down her cheek and arm, pulling her face into a permanent one-sided grimace. I looked away slightly, but not before noticing how beautiful she still was. I walked over and she handed me a plate laden with bacon, eggs, toast and beans. I began to tuck in, surprised by how hungry I was, leaning against the counter beside Emily.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, motherly concern lacing her voice.

"I am actually feeling really good. Better than I have since…" I stopped, realising that everyone as listening in. "S-since he, you know, he, never mind." I stuttered out, looking down and blushing a furious red. Emily changed the subject without missing a beat, and I was so grateful to her. We chatted about me needing to go shopping to get some clothes, seen as I didn't have any.

"Ok, are you done Bella?" Sam asked, and I saw that all of them were standing waiting for me.

"Yeah, just let me help Emily clear up." I replied.

"Its ok, just go. I can clear up." Emily said, smiling at me. I smiled back, before following the boys out of the house. We walked pretty much in silence, through the reservation before heading into the woods. I stopped at the edge of the trees. I hated to admit it, but I was a little scared. I didn't have good memories associated with this wood.

"Its alright Bella, everything will be fine." Jake comforted me, and I cautiously began to follow him through the trees. We walked for quite a long time, eventually coming to a stop in a clearing. It was beautiful, with the morning sunlight lacing through the trees and a gentle breeze making the long grass sway.

I was amazed by how much I could hear and feel, and I stood in the middle of the clearing with my eyes shut, just listening. I could hear each of the individual leaves brushing against each other, hear the faint sound of a birds wings beating, and it was so calming, I felt truly at peace in that moment. Of course somebody had to ruin it.

"Do you think you can phase?" Sam asked me, and I opened my eyes, glaring slightly at him for ruining my peaceful moment. I thought back to how I had become human again from a wolf, and how I had to imagine myself as a human. I pictured myself as a wolf, shut my eyes and willed myself to phase, but I remained steadfastly human. I sighed.

"What do I have to do?" I asked.

"You have to be angry, or have some other really strong emotion." Sam said, and I tried to think of something that made me angry, but I was in a strangely peaceful mood, and I couldn't seem to be angry at anything. The one thing that would get me riled up was thinking of James, but I couldn't bring myself to open up the memories

Sam walked up to me and slapped me, and I was so shocked that I didn't retaliate at first. "Come on, don't be so pathetic. Phase already!" he yelled at me.

"I am trying! I haven't done this before!" I yelled back, and began to shake a little.

"Hmmm. It isn't working. I wonder why?" he said, almost to himself. Then I realised what he was doing. He was trying to get me angry, trying to make me phase. This realisation made me calm down immediately and I stopped shaking. All of the boys were coming closer, and I felt the faintest twinge of fear, remnant of what James had done to me. This thought made me start to shake again, but I was still human. Why can't I phase? I was lost in self pitying thoughts, so I didn't notice Embry coming closer.

His heated lips crashed into mine, and my eyes flew open in shock. What was he doing?!? I felt white hot anger boiling up, almost indistinguishable from the fear that was bubbling inside of me. I was shaking even more now, but I was still human. His hand groping my breast is what threw me over the edge. He only just manage to throw himself clear of my flailing paws. I was a wolf!

Embry was lying in the grass, looking at me nervously. I began to stalk towards him, a deep growl rumbling through my chest, and I crouched, ready to spring on the bastard, when there was a shimmer in the air. My mind was filled with the others' thoughts as they all phased.

_I am so sorry! I was only doing it to make phase, honestly! _Embry thought, and I felt my anger disappear as I felt his sincerity. _Its ok. _I responded, and I felt his relief. He was really scared of what I would have done! I thought back to the kiss, and memories began to surface. I quickly began to sing a song in my head, trying to block them out. I didn't want them to see those memories of what James had done to me, and I was sure that they didn't want to see them. I concentrated on the lyrics, using them to cover up the memories.

"Can you sing like that in real life? Because you would be amazing if you could" Jake thought, but I wasn't sure of the answer. I never sang, so I didn't know how good I was. Instead of replying, I asked Sam to tell me what the pack did.

_Ok, so basically what we do is we patrol our borders and territory, keep an eye on things. The reason we exist is to kill vampires - I had to _block out the memories again as he said that - _and to protect our tribe. There is a vampire coven in Forks, the Cullens, you met them yesterday, although you probably don't remember, but they only feed off animals, not humans so we have a treaty with them._

Sam went on to tell me the legends and explain the treaty. All of the pack listened mostly in silence, and although I had heard the legends when I was younger, I had never really listened to them. Now I knew that they were true, it added a certain depth to them.

Sam finished, and we were all quite for a minute. _The stories only mention the sons._ I thought, realising that there was no mention of female wolves.

_That is because you are the first ever female werewolf, we think. At least there is no mention of there ever being any others. That is why you are so interesting. _Sam answered, and I mulled over that for a while. So I was the only girl, stuck with listening to the thoughts of teenage boys without any girls to gossip with, to relate to. I felt really alone.

_Trust me, its weird for us as well. _Embry said and they all agreed. _I mean, we have to censor our thoughts with a lady present! _He joked, and I just sighed.

_What about Paul? _I asked, and they all went silent. I expected Sam to answer, but he was also quiet.

_We don't know. _He finally thought. I didn't know where he was, or why I didn't imprint on him, but I was surprised to find that I missed him. A lot.

_Maybe she did imprint? _Jared said, and it came out as a question. This led to a lot of speculation. They were all deep in thought, arguing over the points, and they didn't notice at first when I slipped away. I was going to find Paul. It was my fault he ran away, and I needed to find him, I needed to make sure he was ok.

_Bella? Where are you! _I heard them all looking around frantically for me, before they picked up my trail. Soon they had caught up with me.

_I don't think he wants to come back. _Quil suggested gently, and I could tell that they all agreed with him. _I don't care, I am the reason why he left, so I am going to get him back. _I replied, breaking into a run. The others began to run with me, but Sam told them to let me be. I was grateful to him, I was going to go through with this, and I didn't want to have to fight with my pack to get there.

_Bella, you should come and meet the Cullens_. Cullens. Vampires. James. This time I wasn't strong enough to stop the memories. James grabbing my neck and slamming me against a wall, the times he raped me, me curled up in a ball on the floor with him hitting and kicking me again and again, hearing the sound of my ribs cracking. Him raping me in the warehouse yesterday, and the blonde lady, the beautiful one who helped me.

The pack stayed silent throughout this painful replay, obviously not knowing what to say. Silence greeted me when I finally managed to stop the memories, silence except for the sobs running through my mind. I hated him! I growled and began to pick up the pace. How could he do that to me? How could anyone hurt someone so badly? Then my mind wandered to other memories, the spanner hitting me in the head, the guys crowding towards me, and I felt the terror resurface.

_Hey, you know we won't hurt you, ever. _One of them, I wasn't even sure who, tried to comfort me, before Sam told them all to phase, to give me some peace and quiet with my own thoughts. I chocked out a thank you, but kept on running, trying to pick up Paul's trail.

**JPOV**

I listened in silence as Bella replayed the memories, and could feel the pain and the terror rolling off her in waves. I was so horribly repulsed by the bastard, by the things he had done, that I almost wished he was alive so that I could rip him apart again. She was mumbling random, pain-filled thoughts at the end of the string of memories, but I couldn't understand her. Then other memories came, memories of us, the pack, except we were different, bigger, more terrifying, and she was scared of us. I winced. I had caused one of my best friends so much terror. I hated myself.

_Hey, you know we won't hurt you, ever. _I tried to comfort her before Sam ordered us all to phase and let her be alone for a while. I phased back, yanking on my shorts then waiting for the rest of them.

"I don't know how she lived through that. And she sees us as monsters!" I heard Quil saying, sounding so upset.

"Yeah, I want to help her, but if I try anything, she just gets scared. Its strange though, earlier, when I kissed her, she didn't freak out or think of anything like that." Embry replied, puzzled.

"Come on, lets head back to my place, we can hang out for a bit, wait until she calms down. We can all phase later and get her to come back home." I said, already jogging in the direction of my house. I was confused, Bella could be so strong sometimes, yet at other times she just fell apart. And she wasn't under threat anymore, James was dead, and she was strong enough to protect herself now. And why hadn't she phased earlier, before she came back to La Push? She was being abused by a vampire, yet she remained human. There were so many questions, and nobody new the answers.

**PPOV**

I was running as fast as I could in my human form, too scared to phase, scared that the pack would convince me to come back home. In the end that would just cause Bella more heartache. My own heart throbbed slightly as I thought her name, but I ignored it and just kept running. I couldn't go back, wouldn't go back. But it was just so hard, fighting against my every instinct that was telling me to return to the one person who had ever touched my heart.

I ran for hours, not knowing where I was going, just trying to get away from it all. I ran until I literally couldn't run another step, and then I collapsed, in amongst the trees of some foreign forest, and let the blackness of sleep and exhaustion engulf me.

* * *

"Paul! Wake up, please," I heard a beautiful voice begging me, and slowly I pulled open my heavy eyelids. I blinked a few times, waiting for my vision to come into focus. I looked up and my eyes met with my angel's beautiful chocolaty orbs. She was here, with me. The ache in my chest had disappeared, and I smiled up at her.

She just stared into my eyes, shock and wonder written across her face. I called her name, but she didn't respond. I felt like leaping for joy, I knew that expression.

"Baby, I think you just imprinted on me." I murmured, and she just nodded her head, smiling back at me cautiously. I sat up, and saw that the rest of the pack was ranged around us. The whole lot of them had come to find me.

"Paul, why did you run away?" Bella asked.

"Because staying in La Push would only hurt you." I said truthfully, and I saw tears welling up in her eyes. I immediately moved to embrace her, feeling horrible for making her upset, but she pushed me away, shuffling back a little to put some space between us. I backed away as well, not wanting to hurt her in any way.

"Paul, come home." Sam said, but it wasn't quite an alpha order. At least he wasn't forcing me. But she imprinted on me! Sure, it wouldn't be perfect, we would have to work at being together, what with her past and her obvious fear of us, of me, but she had imprinted on me. We were meant to be together. I nodded at Sam, phasing with the rest of them, going home.

**A/N Thank** **you to everyone who reviewed, added my story to their favourites, put this story on story alert, or added me as a favourite author. I have reached more than a hundred reviews, and that really does motivate me to continue writing.**

**I am not sure where exactly to go with this story. Do you think I should just let their relationship develop a bit, or do you want more action, more drama? Please review or PM me if you have any ideas. And also, do you want me to develop Bella's relationship with Rosalie or not? **

**Ok, enough of me rambling. Thank you for reading my story, and I hope you have a great 2010!! Relwot xxx**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N Here is the next chapter. Most people seem to want to see Paul and Bella's relationship develop, so that is what I will be doing over the next few chapters. As for Rosalie, well, you will just have to wait and see!**

**PPOV**

I don't know why she only imprinted now, but she had! And I was coming home with her. I was so happy, ecstatic even. I knew it was probably stretching it to say that she loved me, but she felt the pull, and eventually, with a lot of care and patience she would hopefully end up being with me forever. I was mulling over all this in my mind, not really paying attention to what the others were thinking. I didn't really care. Bella imprinted on me.

_I hope she has forgiven me _Embry's thought caught my attention, and I listened in to him a bit more. Then he replayed a memory, just a brief flash, but it was enough. He had kissed her. I didn't care why, he knew that I had imprinted on her, he knew that she was mine. I roared, leaping towards him, and he only just managed to leap out of the way.

I came at him with snapping jaws, furious. He has kissed my Bella! He knew about the imprint, but more than that, he knew what had happened to her. We all knew. How could he have been so cruel, so heartless? I leapt forward again, managing to sink my teeth into his leg, gripping my jaws tight so that he couldn't pull free. I felt his own jaws lock onto the back of my neck, and I had to release his leg to free myself.

I shook my head slightly before leaping at him once more, my anger blocking out what everyone else was thinking. I swiped my paw across his face, gouging deep gashes into his cheek. He howled in pain, before leaping for me, intent on getting revenge. But I was higher up in the pack ranking than him, so I was bigger and stronger. I managed to leap out of the way and spun around, grabbing onto the ruff at the back of his neck.

_Stop! _I heard the alpha tone rumbling deep in Sam's thoughts, and I was forced to let go of the mangy bastard. I stepped back, looking at his bloody face with disgust. How could he?

_Paul, its ok. He only did it to make me phase. _Bella thought, and her presence immediately calmed me as she came to stand by my side. She then replayed the memories she had of the morning. I growled when I realized that Sam had slapped her. I should have been there; I should have helped her through this.

_Don't be silly. I am fine. No damage. _She said, still standing beside me. I could feel the warmth radiating off me, and I had to work really hard not to take a step closer so that we were touching.

_Now, apologise. _ She said, and my mouth fell open in shock. But she just looked into my eyes and murmured a heartbreaking "please" and I was gone. I turned to face Embry.

_Sorry. _ I mumbled, and I heard the others sniggering. I did my best to ignore them.

_Embry, apologise as well. _Bella said, and he was about to argue, but one look from her silenced him.

_Sorry. _ He mumbled to me, and my pride was slightly restored by this. We started running again, almost back to La Push by now. This time Bella was running beside me, and I felt the last of my anger disappear with this thought. I turned my head slightly and gave a wolfy grin, and she giggled slightly.

We carried on running, our paws hitting the earth in nature's rhythm, the constant thudding calming and soothing me. We reached La Push in about an hour, phasing in the woods. Bella ran a good hundred meters away from us, hiding behind a tree when she phased. We all shook our heads. It was going to be weird having a girl in the pack. Before we could think what we like and we weren't bothered by each other's nudity when we phased. Things would be different with Bella around.

The others went on to Jacob's house, but I waited until Bella came back, wearing a pretty flowery sundress that gently hugged her beautiful figure, stopping just above the knee and showing off her lovely toned legs. She looked healthier now, the wolf gene obviously kicking in. She didn't look so small and helpless anymore, and she had grown taller, the top of her head now level with my chin. Not so far to lean in and kiss her, I thought, before putting a stop to that train of thought before I actually did kiss her. I am sure she wouldn't take that too well.

"Come on, all of the guys are heading to Jacob's place." I said, smiling at her. I started to lead the way when she spoke.

"Actually, I think I am going to head to the beach for a bit. I need to think." She said, looking at me with an expression that could only be described as fear. I couldn't imagine why she was scared.

"Ok, that's fine. Do you want company?" I asked, hoping desperately that she would say yes.

"Umm, ok. I mean, you don't have to, but I don't mind." She stuttered, unsure of herself. I smiled at her again, and turned around, walking beside her in comfortable silence as we headed towards the beach.

The beach was completely empty, probably because it wasn't the nicest of days. The sky was a deep, surging grey, the sea reflecting the colour, almost black, swelling rhythmically. It was beautiful in a darkly powerful sort of way, and I stopped walking for a minutes, just feeling the wind rushing around me and watching nature's power before me. Bella had also stopped, and I saw her take in a deep, salty breath. The wind swept her rich chestnut hair out behind her in a rippling river, and her eyes were shut against the wind. She looked more beautiful than I had ever seen her right then.

She opened her eyes, turning towards me and blushing when she caught me staring at her. She looked down at her feet and resumed walking towards the ocean, and like a helpless lost puppy I followed behind her. She stopped when her toes were touching the water. I stood on her right, feeling the water brushing against my feet, cold, but not unpleasantly so. Though, I bet if a human was submerged in this water they would freeze to death in five seconds flat.

"I know it sounds silly, but I think that the whole grey sky and stormy atmosphere is truly beautiful," she said, and I looked at her surprised.

"I was just thinking that!" I said, and she smiled slightly at me.

"You know, even though I imprinted on you, I really don't want to rush anything." She said, sounding shy and even a little scared.

"I know what you have been through, and I know that you aren't ready for a serious relationship yet. I am not going to rush you. We potentially have forever to fall in love," I said, and took her hand in mine, looking into her eyes, trying to get her to realize how sincere I was.

**BPOV**

He looked deep into my eyes, and I felt like grinning stupidly at him. In fact, I felt like kissing his perfect lips, but at the same time I wanted so badly to run away, to not have to face anything that would force me to confront my memories. A relationship would be guaranteed to do that. But I could tell that he was being completely sincere, and that made me relax. I was so scared that he would want to rush things now that I had imprinted on him.

"Thank you," I said, gently squeezing his hand in mine. I turned back to face the ocean, loving the way that the waves rose and fell. I really had meant it when I said that it was beautiful, you could feel nature's power swirling around us.

I took another step forward, then another; I kept walking until the water was swelling around my hips. It was cold, but my heated skin meant that I wasn't uncomfortable. My shorts and t-shirt were getting wet, but I really didn't mind. I walked forward until the water was up to my chest. I glanced back and saw that Paul was still watching from the shallows. I smiled at him before turning away again.

I took another step forward and began to swim. I felt so powerful, my muscles working together to push me through the water. I rose and fell with the increasingly large waves, and I didn't seem to be getting tired. After a while I was beginning to feel a little cold, so I turned and began to swim back towards the shore. Paul was still watching, a strange expression on his face that I couldn't quiet understand. I walked through the shallows and onto the sand.

"We should probably head to Jake's house. The guys will be wondering where we are." He said, and he took my hand again. I shivered slightly from the contact, and he pulled me closer to him, thinking I was cold. He wrapped one arm around my shoulders and I froze for a moment, expecting the fear to set in, but I felt nothing. I cautiously lay my head against his shoulder, and we began walking back along the beach. It was awkward walking like this, and to make it more comfortable I carefully wrapped my arm around his waist. I looked up and he was smiling happily back at me.

I was still soaking by the time we got to Jake's house, but I wasn't cold. Paul knocked once, and then just walked in. I could hear them all in the living room, and we walked through, me being careful not to drip on the rugs in the hallway. Paul went in first, and I followed.

"What have you been doing Bella? You're soaking!" Embry called out, and I just shrugged.

"I went swimming," I explained.

"Awww Bella! You're getting water all over the carpet!" Jake said, and I looked down. Oh no! I was! I hadn't realized that I was standing on a rug. I looked up, terrified. He would be so cross! I honestly didn't mean it, and I tried to say that, but my throat was constricting, and I couldn't form the words. He stood up, and took a step towards me, frowning. He was going to hit me, I was sure of it. I felt tears well up in my eyes, and the fear rose up with them. I took a step back, trying to get away from him.

He stepped forward again, and that was when the panic really set in. I could feel all of them watching. If Jacob hit me, then they probably would see it as an invitation to join in. I had to get away!

With tears streaming down my cheeks I turned and ran out of the house, fear making me run as fast as I could. I heard footsteps on the road behind me, but I was too fast, and I had a head start. I kept on running, not knowing where I was going, just wanting to get away. A tiny voice in the back of my mind told me I was being stupid, but the fear soon quenched it, and I kept on running. I heard someone calling my name, but I ignored him.

I don't know how long I ran for, but somehow I ended up back in the forest. For some reason, it was comforting to be amongst the trees, as if they were protecting me. I didn't fear it anymore because it was familiar by now. I always seemed to end up here. I ran for a little while longer until I was deep in amongst the trees. I slumped against one of the trunks, sliding down to the ground, pulling my knees up to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. Then I just sobbed and sobbed, letting it all out.

**JPOV**

The guys and me were hanging out at my place, playing on the play station and making the occasional joke about what Paul and Bella might be up to. It was nice to just hang out for a while and chill. I was sitting in the armchair, watching Embry completely trash Quil at some car game or other. I wasn't really paying attention. I heard footsteps approaching the house, and a knock on the door. Paul and Bella didn't wait for me to answer, they just walked straight in.

Paul came in first, with Bella behind him. She was completely soaked, and I could smell the salty smell of seawater. She had been swimming in the sea.

"What have you been doing Bella? You're soaking!" Embry said, and she just shrugged at him.

"I went swimming," she explained. She was standing the rug, water dripping onto it. Without thinking, I scolded her.

"Awww Bella! You're getting water all over the carpet!" I said, putting on a mock frown. I wasn't really bothered by it; I was just messing with her. She looked at her feet, and then looked back up at me, her eyes filled with terror. Shit, I thought. I hadn't meant to scare her. I felt like hitting myself, how could I have been so stupid? Of course I would scare her, she thought I was really angry with her. Tears welled up in her eyes, and I took a step forward, trying to comfort her. That was a stupid move, and with one more terrified glance around the room, she turned and sprinted away.

We all froze for a minute before sprinting after her, but our pause had given her a good head start, and she was fast. We didn't stand a chance of catching her, and we all began to slow down.

"Bella!" Paul called out, his voice brimming with pain. I felt terrible. How could I have been so idiotic?

"How could you be so stupid?" said Paul, voicing my thoughts.

"I am so sorry! I honestly didn't mean it; I was just messing with her. I didn't think!" I said, feeling truly remorseful.

"That's just it, isn't it? You never do think!" He yelled back at me.

"I said I was sorry!" I yelled back, feeling my temper rising.

"Oh, well that makes everything better then. That stops Bella from hurting!" He shouted at me, beginning to tremble.

"I would never hurt her on purpose!" I replied, feeling my own hands beginning to shake.

"But you still did." He said, the tremors increasing until his whole outline was blurred. He knew that I didn't mean it! He knew that I really would never deliberately hurt Bella, she meant too much to me. But anger was clouding both of our judgments, and we phased almost simultaneously.

Paul leapt at me, his snapping jaws aiming straight for my jugular. I sprang out of the way, whirling round and latching my own jaws onto his tail. He yelped, and twisted round, grabbing the back of my neck in his teeth and pulling viciously. It would have become a lot more serious if Sam hadn't phased and ordered us to cut it out.

_Paul, Jake didn't do it deliberately. Jake, calm down and stop winding Paul up. Now, we are going to go to the Cullen's place. _He thought, before phasing back before we had a chance to ask him to explain. I also phased back, confused as to why we were going to the Cullen's house.

"Hey Sam, why we going there?" I asked, and he was already jogging away when he answered. Of course we followed him.

"I figure that Bella would be even more scared if any of us guys went after her. The blond one, Rosalie, has been through something like her, I'm not sure exactly what, but she will be better at helping Bella than we would be." He explained. What he was saying made sense, but I could tell that none of us were happy with sending a bloodsucker to help Bella.

"I know you don't want a vampire helping Bella, but she can protect herself now. I will stay in wolf form, so I will know if she phases and needs help. And after what the Cullen's did for us at the warehouse, I trust them." Sam said, and his word was law to us.

We ran on in silence until we reached the big house in the forest. Sam went up to the door first, raising his hand to knock, but it was unnecessary. The mind reader had heard us coming, and he already had the door open.

"Come in." he said, and to his credit he sounded perfectly neutral. I was expecting some aggression from him for turning up at his home, but he was completely calm.

"Bella got scared, one of us set off a reaction in her. She ran off into the forest, but if any of us guys go we will just scare her even more. We came to ask Rosalie if she would consider trying to help Bella." Sam said, and Rosalie was already pulling on a jacket. I wondered why she bothered; it wasn't like she could feel the cold.

"For Bella. I know she doesn't feel the cold, but it will be reassuring if I appear as human as possible to her." She explained, and I glanced outside. It was very windy, and would be freezing to a human. I hadn't noticed.

"I don't know how long I will be. If I can get her to come back with me, where should I take her?" she asked, perched on the doorstep, obviously desperate to leave.

"Take her to my place. I have enough room. My mum doesn't stay at home anymore." I wasn't surprised that Paul offered.

"Ok, but I might stay as well if that's ok with you?" Rosalie said, and I was shocked when Paul nodded in agreement. Then Rosalie was gone with a sweep of her long blond hair.

**RPOV**

I ran as fast as I could, heading for the reservation. I had to help Bella. What she had been through was so much worse than what I went through, it was prolonged torture, and what had happened to me had taken me so many years to get over. I had this deep need to help her; I couldn't stand by and watch her suffer.

I reached the rez quickly, and spent a few precious minutes running around trying to pick up a scent. I finally found her scent; it burned my nose slightly, but wasn't as bad as the rest of the pack smelled. I followed it, expertly tracking her through the forest. She had gone a long way; I was surprised by how far she had gone. Eventually I found her, curled up against a tree sobbing.

My heart broke for her at that moment. I don't know how she survived, how she pulled through for so long. She had done so much, been so strong. But now she needed help, she couldn't fight this alone. I cautiously sat against a tree opposite her, just waiting for her to speak first. I wasn't going to push her. In a way I was scared, not knowing exactly what to do. If I said or did the wrong thing I could just end up making her worse. So I waited.

**A/N Thank you so much for all of your reviews. They really motivate me to keep on writing. I won't be updating for the next few days, I have exams (yippee. :S) but I promise to try my hardest to get the next chapter up soon! Relwot xxx**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N I know, I have been a terrible author, not updating for so long, but my exams are over! So I will be able to update more frequently from now on. Enjoy!**

**BPOV**

I don't know if it was the rain, my exhaustion or the fact that there was some other weird, freaky thing about me, but she didn't smell bad. Sure, she smelled unusual, a floral, dusty smell, but it didn't burn my nose like it did to the other wolves. I didn't acknowledge her, just kept my head pressed against my knees, not even trying to stop the heavy flow of tears.

After what felt like a lifetime she finally spoke. "Bella?" her voice was musical, and she made my name into a question. I just ignored her, wanting her to go away, to leave me here. I didn't want to confront my problems and I didn't want to deal with my memories. I was a coward, but I wasn't ashamed enough to look at her.

"Bella, I am here to help. I know how you feel." I spitefully thought that no, she didn't know how I felt. She had no clue. "I went through something similar when I was human, and I nearly died. I was changed into a vampire to save me from death." She explained, and I slowly absorbed that. Maybe she did know, maybe she could tell me how to forget. Because she certainly didn't seem to be plagued by her memories, she seemed to be functioning properly, and that was what I wanted. I slowly raised my head.

"Tell me what happened to you," she said quietly, standing up slowly and moving closer to me, her steps exaggerated so that I wouldn't be alarmed. I hated to admit it, but it did comfort me, the fact that she was being careful, to be nice to me.

I didn't want to tell her, didn't want to have to live through it again, but somehow the words began to pour out of my mouth. I told her the full version, the one with the details, not the shorter version I had told the wolves. I told her how he would heat up a metal pole and burn streaks across my back, how he would force me to do things to him, to 'pleasure' him, with the threat of him hurting my mother hanging over my head constantly. I told her how I had learned to strap up broken ribs, because I couldn't keep going to the hospital or someone would get suspicious.

I just talked and talked, letting it all out, my voice becoming stronger, if slightly shaky from the tears, and all the time she just sat and listened, still in the way that only vampires could be. It was wonderful to talk about it, at the same time as being horrific. I could almost feel his ice cold fist punching into my gut, feel the burn of his hand as he slapped my cheek, and the memories flooded through my brain. I relived my entire ordeal that night, with a blonde vampire as my witness.

When I got to the time when I ended up in the forest after I had run away from him, I finally stopped speaking. We sat in silence for a long time, and I felt strangely weightless. It was as if, and I know this is clichéd, a great weight had been taken off my back. My relief at having told someone was so great that I was slightly overwhelmed.

"What is your name?" I asked softly, unsure of what her reaction was to my tale. She still hadn't moved a muscle.

"My name is Rosalie." She said, and then we went back to our silence.

"I know how hard it must be to open your heart and let someone in, but you have to. You are an incredibly strong woman, you have survived things that would have killed a lot of people. You have been through so much, but now you need to let someone help. You cannot do this, you cannot heal yourself on your own." She said, and although her words hurt, I could see the truth in them.

"I know. It's just so hard to let anyone in, so hard to trust someone." I replied, my voice breaking slightly. I almost rolled my eyes, surely I should have cried all of my tears by now.

"Paul is a good man. He would never hurt you. You should speak to him, tell him what you told me." She said, her voice soft and persuasive. I knew that Paul wouldn't ever hurt me, but the instincts that James had instilled within me were so strong, I couldn't overcome them.

"I know, and I will. Just not yet." I replied to her, but she shook her head.

"Don't wait, do it now. It won't get any easier with time." She said. Everything she said made sense, and I knew the truth in her words, I just didn't want to acknowledge it.

"He is at my house. I will take you there. He can help you more than I can." She stood up in one fluid movement, stretching her hand out to me. I hesitated, a second lasting forever, before tentatively placing my heated hand in her icy one. The temperature made me freeze for a second, but I took a deep breath and pushed the fear away. It was surprisingly easy to trust her. I don't know why, everything about her screamed danger, but I felt comfortable with her. Maybe it was because she knew about me now.

She began to jog, faster than a human sprint, but easy for me to keep up with. I was scared, scared of telling Paul the whole story, but more scared of letting him in. I was sure that after today things would be different, that our relationship was about to change.

**RPOV**

I listened with growing horror as her tale unwound, but I made myself keep still, trying not to show any emotion. The things he had done to her truly made him a monster, in a way infinitely worse than what the shape shifters or the rest of the vampires were. Hell, the Volturi weren't that evil, they didn't torture or abuse anyone as badly as that. A tiny hiss escaped when she told me how he had burned her with white hot metal, and the rapes were all just as brutal as mine. It had taken me such a long time to get over my incident, and she had had so many.

When she finished, we just sat there, her lost in thought as tears still trickled down her cheeks, and me absorbing everything she had told me. I was angry, so angry at James, and I was struggling to control myself.

"What is your name?" Bella asked quietly, and I glanced into her eyes. There was a subtle fear there, and I realized that she was scared of my reaction to her story.

"My name is Rosalie." I replied, and then waited for a while to see if she would speak again.

"I know how hard it must be to open your heart and let someone in, but you have to. You are an incredibly strong woman, you have survived things that would have killed a lot of people. You have been through so much, but now you need to let someone help. You cannot do this, you cannot heal yourself on your own." I eventually spoke, and I honestly believed in what I was saying.

I realized then just how much she needed Paul, and how much he needed her. The imprint was to create perfect couples, and Paul seemed to be a strong, steady man, something she desperately needed, whilst she would teach him patience and make him even stronger.

"I know. It's just so hard to let anyone in, so hard to trust someone." she replied, her voice breaking slightly as more tears began to fall. I think that she believed that I thought of her as weak because of the tears, a strange expression flitted across her face.

"Paul is a good man. He would never hurt you. You should speak to him, tell him what you told me." I said, gently trying to encourage her. I knew that he didn't have it in him to hurt her, that any pain he caused her was painful to him. But they couldn't start a relationship without him knowing the whole story, the one she had told me.

"I know, and I will. Just not yet." She was quite clearly stalling, and I understood that she was scared, but she needed to do this.

"Don't wait, do it now. It won't get any easier with time." I said. "He is at my house. I will take you there. He can help you more than I can."

I stood up and held out my hand to her. She hesitated before placing her warm hand in mine, ad flinched slightly at the memories my skin would no doubt uncover, but she took a deep breath and stood up. That more than anything showed me just how strong she really was, and I truly admired her. She was already recovering, if only a little. It would take a long time before she was fully better, but she had all the help she needed.

I began to run slowly, heading back in the direction of my house, thinking that I wanted everyone except Paul out of the house. I knew Edward would hear me, so when we did arrive at the house, it was quite except for Paul's faint breathing. I stopped running, and gently pushed Bella in the direction of the house. She needed to do this alone, but I would be nearby if she needed me, I reassured her. With one last panicked glance at me, she walked through the door.

**PPOV**

I waited and waited, not able to sit still, pacing around the Cullen's house, desperate to know if Bella was ok. Esme cooked something for us, and I ate without tasting. Eventually Sam sent Jared, Quil and Embry out to patrol, but he left me and Jake alone, knowing how worried we were. The sun slowly set, and the rain stopped, but there was still no sign of Rosalie or Bella. Several times I headed to the door, intent on going out and finding them, but someone always stopped me.

It was very early morning, around three o'clock when Edward, the mind reader, ushered everyone except me out of the house, saying that they were coming back and that me and Bella needed to talk. I sat down in the armchair, trying to look relaxed, but I don't think I was succeeding. I heard them run up to the house, and Rosalie comforting Bella, telling her that it would be alright. I heard tentative steps towards the door, and then my angel walked in.

I couldn't help myself, I stood up and strode over to her, gathering her up in my arms. I had been so scared, truly terrified for her. I felt her stiffen in my arms, and she took in a deep breath before relaxing slightly. I felt like grinning, as if she was finally starting to let me in.

"Paul, we need to talk." She whispered into my chest, and I nodded, letting her go, but still with one of my arms wrapped around her shoulders. I never wanted to let her go. We went over to the sofa, and I sat on the edge, and after a moment's hesitation, she sat next to me, her thigh against mine and her head resting on my shoulder. Then she began to talk.

When she had told me what had happened to her that day on the beach, she had left out most of the details. She told me the full story then. She told me about how he would hang her by her hands from the ceiling and hit her again and again as she hung there helpless. She told me about how he would rape her again and again, until blood was pouring out of her. I managed to control my anger better this time, and only faint tremors shook my body, but it was a huge effort.

I honestly wished I hadn't killed him, just so I could rip him apart more slowly, more painfully, take my time, torture him for what he had done to her. She finally finished her gruesome tale, and we both sat in silence for a while.

"I know that I imprinted on you, and I know you imprinted on me, but I want to take things slowly. I need to take things slowly. Consciously I know that you won't hurt me, but James instilled these instincts in me, and I get so scared." She explained.

"I know, honey. I know. And I am not going to push you to do anything, ever." I said, trying to show how sincere I was.

"Why do think I didn't imprint at first?" she said, clearly trying to move onto a lighter topic.

"I don't really know, but I have this theory. I think that you can only imprint when you are in your human form, and that's why you didn't imprint when you were a wolf." I said. I had thought about this, and to me that was the only logical explanation.

"Bella, I am really sorry, but we need you now." Sam said urgently, as he and the rest of the pack burst through the door. Bella leapt out of my arms, backing away from the pack, fear showing clearly on her face.

"Bella, it's ok, you know these guys. They won't hurt you." I comforted her, and she slowly stepped into my arms. I was so happy, she was starting to trust me.

"Why do you need me?" she asked quietly.

"Leah and Seth Clearwater just phased. Leah would be best if she had another woman to help her through this. Would you mind?" Sam explained.

"Ummm, no I guess I could help. But I don't think I will be much use." She said, but she was already heading for the door.

"I think that you will do brilliantly. I will come with you. The rest of you, wait here." Sam said, and I started to protest, but Jake stopped me. He waited until they were gone before explaining.

"Bella has a lot on her mind, I think, after your talk. It is probably best if you two don't share your thoughts just yet, you need to talk this out." He said. I sighed, annoyed that he made sense.

**SPOV**

Bella's mind was in turmoil, with random, horrific memories randomly surfacing before she suppressed them, and she was running over her conversations repeatedly. She focused after a minute though, listening to the panicked sound of the two new wolves' thoughts. She ran off in their direction, and I followed her, interested to see how she would handle this.

_Ok, my name is Bella, and this is Sam. Don't panic, everything is fine. _She said, and she did sound surprisingly comforting. _I need you to stay where you are, and I will be there soon. Then I will help you to phase back into a human. _She explained, and picked up her pace a little.

_What is happening? How can I hear you? What do I do? Why? _The questions swam through my mind, and I tried hard to concentrate on something else. They hadn't learned to control their thoughts; I didn't want to dig too deep. Plus, Leah wasn't my biggest fan. I was dating her, we were engaged, when I imprinted on Emily. That was a painful time for both of us.

_Why are you in my head Sam? _Leah's painful memories flooded through my mind, and I winced. I knew I had hurt her, but this pain was worse than I imagined. Bella listened in silence for a moment.

_Sam, I think I will manage on my own. Maybe you should phase back? _She suggested tentatively, and I was all to quick to comply, phasing back to a human. I would wait an hour and then maybe send Jake. I didn't want to cause Leah any more pain. This was bad enough without her having to share my thoughts.

**BPOV**

I felt the faint shimmer in the air as Sam phased, and then I was alone with two new wolves. I reached them quickly, both of them huddled together amongst the trees.

_Ok, I'm here, you don't need to panic. You need to calm down. Tell me about yourselves. _I said, going on instinct, trying to help them. They stayed still for a moment before Seth started talking.

_Well, my name is Seth and I am 15. What am I? _he asked.

_You are a werewolf. You remember the tribal stories? Well, they are true. _I explained, and then Leah piped up.

_So now we are in Sam's 'gang'? _ She thought. From what I had gathered, she and Sam used to be together until he imprinted on Emily.

_What's imprinting? _Seth asked, and so I settled down, telling them about some of the things involved with being a wolf. By the time I had finished they were both a lot calmer, and I decided to try and help them phase.

_It is quite simple; I got the hang of it really quickly. You just have to picture yourself as a human, really feel what it is like to be a human, and you phase. _I explained as best as I could. I had been surprised by how easily I had phased when I came out here, it was almost effortless. They were both concentrating on their human forms, and after a few failed attempts, Leah was the first to phase back, but her brother was quick to follow. I phased back last, and Seth blushed and looked away from my naked body. Leah just stared.

"Where are all those scars from?" she asked. She definitely didn't beat about the bush.

"I have a history. You will probably hear about it from the other wolves, but I don't really want to tell you right now. We need to get back to the pack." I said, reaching down and untying my clothes from around my legs. Just then Jacob appeared in wolf form, with some clothes in his mouth, which he laid on the floor before running back to the Cullen's house.

"That was Jacob. Here, put some clothes on," I said, holding out the garments for them to take. They dressed quickly, and then we set off, trekking through the forest until we reached the big house.

"Bella! Are you ok?" Paul said as he ran out of the house to greet me. He carefully hugged me, and to my surprise it felt nice.

"I'm fine. Do you know Leah and Seth?" I said, and he nodded. "Come on then, let's go in." I said, breaking away from Paul and walking inside.

"It smells awful!" Seth said.

"That's vampire scent. But these are the Cullen's, the ones I told you about?" I said, and they both nodded in understanding.

"Ok, you two go inside, Sam will be there. He is the Alpha, like I told you. He will be better at answering your questions than I am. I need to talk to Paul." I said, nodding at the door. "Just walk right in, its alright" I comforted them when they hesitated. Seth was the first to step forward, pushing open the door and walking inside.

"Thank you, Bella." Leah said, and it was the nicest thing that had crossed her mouth or thoughts since I met her. I smiled at her, and suddenly I could see us as friends, the lone wolves of the pack, separated by the fact that we were females. She also smiled, before following her brother inside.

"I am sorry about interrupting our conversation." I said softly to Paul, looking down at my feet, feeling guilty for just running off.

"You're sorry?" he said, and I was confused.

"Yes?" I said, my answer sounding like a question as well. I didn't like this, I was confused and didn't know why he didn't understand.

"Why? You went to help two new wolves, by the looks of things did a fantastic job, and you are apologizing for interrupting our conversation? You are so confusing, Isabella!" he said, and the slight laugh hidden behind my name made me feel strangely weightless. He had never called me Isabella before, and I liked the way his deep voice seemed to caress the word.

"I should have stayed with you. I was rude" I was surprised by how he made me defend my apology. James had always made me repeat my apologies, and never questioned them.

"Well, I don't think you were wrong, but either way, you are here now." He said, and I felt the tone of the conversation become more serious.

"Paul, I have feelings for you, ones that can only be explained by the imprinting, but I am not ready to feel them." I stood still, my gaze still locked on my feet. I couldn't meet his eyes.

"Isabella, tell me what you want. What do you want me to do?" he said, taking my chin in his hands forcing me to meet his intense stare.

"Heal me, please." I whispered back.

**A/N I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you again to everyone who has reviewed! It really inspires me! And the story alerts, author alerts and favorites mean just as much to me. Thank you! As always, feel free to PM me if you have any questions or ideas, and please take the time to tell me what you think of this story. I need to know what is good and what is bad if I am to improve my writing! Relwot xxx**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N I am so sorry for the long wait for this chapter, but it was hard to write and I have been suffering from seriousness lack of motivation (that's another way of saying I am lazy!) But anyway, here it is, Chapter 11.**

**BPOV**

I woke up early, the sun only just slipping over the horizon, and I felt fantastic. I had slept through the entire night without a single nightmare, and I felt more relaxed and rested than I had in a long time. I lay in bed for a while, but eventually I swung my legs out and headed downstairs to find breakfast. I was wearing one of Paul's t-shirts and a pair of his boxers. I hadn't got round to going shopping with Emily yet, and I was still borrowing clothes from Leah.

"Good morning," Paul came up behind me, his deep voice shocking me. Werewolves can move almost silently, but even so, I should have heard him approaching.

"Hello," I said, still feeling shy, but I was slowly getting used to the warm feeling I got whenever he is around. I continued walking towards the kitchen, listening to his footsteps behind me. I barely noticed, but I was getting faster and faster, unconsciously trying to get away from him.

"Hey, wait!" he said, as one of his arms slipped around my waist, pulling me to a standstill. "Are you trying to get away from me?" he said, and the hurt in his voice all but broke my heart.

"I am so sorry Paul! I didn't mean it!" I stuttered, and I could almost feel him smile.

"Don't worry. I just want you to trust me," he said, his breath tickling my ear as he leaned in closer. I suddenly became very conscious of the way my body was pressed tightly against his, and he wasn't wearing his shirt. I could feel his rippling muscles against my back. He was so strong, so powerful, if he just squeezed me a little too hard, he could snap my spine in an instant. I doubted that even a werewolf could recover from that quick enough to save their life.

I casually wriggled out of his embrace and continued towards the kitchen, and this time he walked beside me where I could see him. I moved around his kitchen with an easy familiarity. I had been staying with him since I first phased, and I was slowly getting used to it. Paul never did anything I didn't want him to, and he was a real gentleman. The embrace that had just happened was a first, and I was surprised by how easily I had handled it. Sure, I had pulled away, but I hadn't screamed or fainted.

"What would you like for breakfast?" I asked him, rooting through the fridge to see what there was.

"There are loads of eggs. I'll cook if you want. You just sit down." He said, his hand wrapping around my elbow and pulling me away from the fridge.

"It's alright, I can cook." I protested, but he just pulled me over to the table and sat me down in a chair. I sighed and gave in, watching him move around the kitchen. He really was gorgeous, his chest perfectly chiseled, his skin a beautiful russet colour, and his face like that of an angel. I smiled slightly, that was what he called me, his little angel. I didn't mind the term, although it was a bit personal. What was strange was that when he said it, his eyes showed that he was being honest, that to him I really was an angel.

The delicious smell of fried eggs filled the kitchen, and I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply. I was still getting used to the way that I was always hungry, but I was slowly becoming accustomed to the amount I had to eat at every meal.

"What are you going to do today?" Paul asked me as he served up the eggs onto a plate, placing a pile of toast on another plate in the middle of the table.

"I'm not sure. I might see if Leah is free, it would be nice to get to know her a bit better." I said as I began to eat. Paul sat down opposite me, and he was so tall that his legs were brushing against mine.

"Sounds cool." He said, before he started to eat. "I was thinking that maybe we could go out somewhere to eat tonight," he said, and I froze. He was asking me out on a date. I didn't, couldn't say anything. After a date guys always expected girls to go all the way with them, didn't they? I didn't want to, I wasn't ready for that. I couldn't say no though, that would upset him, but if I said yes then I would just have to disappoint him after the date.

"You know, I wouldn't expect anything from it. I just thought it would be nice to get out of the house and have a chat or something." He said, I let out the breath I hadn't noticed I had been holding.

"Ok, that would be cool." I said, relieved that he understood not to push me. The phone rang, the shrill ring startling both of us. Paul stood up and went to answer it.

"Hello?" he said, and I loved the way the depth of his voice seemed to ripple through me. "Yes, here she is." He handed me the phone, mouthing "Charlie" to me. I had completely forgotten that Charlie had absolutely no idea what had happened to me. I took the phone, panicking about what to do.

"Hello Dad," I said.

"Where are you? Are you really a wolf? Why haven't you called? Are you alright? Did you imprint on Paul? Are you…" he said, and I was forced to interrupt the seemingly endless stream of questions.

"You know about me being a wolf?" I said, shocked. I had assumed that I would have to keep this a secret from him.

"Of course I do!" he said, sighing dramatically, and that was when I knew he wasn't really angry with me.

"Oh! I am so glad you know! I didn't want to keep it a secret. And I am staying with, and I did imprint on him." I said.

"Can you come over? I want to talk to you, face to face about what has been happening." He said, and I agreed that it was a good idea and that I would be over in an hour.

"Love you Dad." I said.

"Love you too honey." He said before hanging up.

"I am going to go see him, I need a shower and to get dressed first though." I said, but the phone rang before I could go.

"Hello? Paul's house." I said, answering the phone for him. I glanced at him, worried that he would be annoyed with me for doing that, but he just smiled at me.

"Hi! Is this Bella?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

"Ummm yes, this is Bella." I said.

"Good! I'm Kim, Jared's imprint, and I was thinking that it would be cool if we got to know each other. I am having a sleepover tonight with Emily and Leah. Would you like to come?" she said, and I swear she didn't breath.

"Ummm, ok. Yes! That would be cool." I said. It would be a good idea, all the "wolf girls" getting to know one another.

"Ok. Emily can come over tonight to pick you up, she will show you where I live." She said, before hanging up. Then I remembered that I had agreed to go out with Paul this evening.

"I am so sorry, I completely forgot that we were going out tonight!" I said.

"Don't worry! Tomorrow night instead?" he said, and I smiled at him.

"That would be great. Thank you!" I said, before running upstairs for a shower. I turned the water on hot enough for it to feel warm even against my heated skin, the steady stream against my body soothing me. I washed my hair slowly, taking my time, before finally shutting off the water and getting out of the shower, drying myself off and padding quietly to my bedroom. I opened my wardrobe and found that all of the clothes Leah had lent me were dirty. I had nothing to wear. I cautiously sifted through the pile until I found a pair of denim shorts, then I decided to call Paul.

"Paul! Can I please borrow a shirt?" I called, knowing that he would hear me. Two minutes later he knocked on my door and, pulling my towel a little tighter around me, I opened the door. He froze when he saw me, and I glanced down. I wasn't showing anything much, just a little cleavage, although I guess that the towel didn't cover much of my now longer and tanned legs.

"Ummm, h-here you go." He stuttered, handing me the shirt before turning around and walking away abruptly. I was confused. I knew I wasn't exactly pretty, but my body surely wasn't that repulsive! I mean, my scars had faded now until they were barely visible on my skin. I felt unwanted tears swim into my eyes, and a couple fell down my cheeks. I angrily wiped them away, turning back into my room and shutting the door a little harder than necessary.

I yanked on his shirt, trying to ignore the warm feeling inside me when I breathed in his scent, and wrapped a belt around my waist. I glanced at the clock, before pulling a brush through my wet hair and jogging down the stairs and out of the house. I heard Paul calling my name, but I just ignored him. I thought he was a gentleman, that even if he was repulsed by my body he would at least try to hide it a little.

I sprinted all the way to Charlie's house, and I managed to run most of my anger out by the time I got there. I knocked on the door, and heard his footsteps coming towards the door. The full weight of my nervousness hit me then, and it took all of my willpower to stop myself from running away. I heard him slide the deadbolt back and unlock the door before pulling it open. We stared at each other for one awkward moment and then, to my complete surprise, he pulled me into a rib-cracking hug. I realized then how much I had missed him over the last couple of weeks.

"I'm sorry, dad. I should have come to see you sooner." I mumbled, my head buried in his shoulder.

"It's alright Bells. I just missed you, that's all." He replied, finally releasing me and standing to the side awkwardly. Both of us weren't really the type to show our emotions, and I shuffled past him into the house.

"Sue is spending some time with her kids. I heard about them joining the pack, and it has been quite hard on her." He said, and I followed him into the living room, perching on the armchair whilst he settled himself on the sofa.

"So tell me about what's been happening." He said, and after a hesitant start I began to tell him everything, including what James had done to me, just not in too much detail. He didn't need to know everything, and I was fearful of causing him a heart attack. His face got darker and darker as my story progressed.

I moved onto telling him about what had happened since I had phased. I finally finished my story, and was surprised by how long it had taken me. It was early afternoon, and I was starving. We sat in silence for a few minutes before Charlie eventually spoke.

"Thank you for telling me. I am so sorry that I wasn't there, that I couldn't stop James," he said, his voice thick with emotion.

"Dad! Don't be sorry, you didn't know, and even if you did, you couldn't have done anything." I said, standing up and going over to him, wrapping my arms around his waist. He just grunted.

"Well, I guess we should organize lunch." He said getting up. I grabbed his wrist, pulling him back down.

"I think it would be best if you don't go near the kitchen. I will make lunch." I said, shuddering at the memories of his terrible cooking. He smiled sheepishly at me, and nodded his head. I got up and went into the familiar kitchen, opening the fridge and pulling out some chicken. I began to cook it, slicing some potatoes and making a quick marinade. In no time at all I had the food laid out on the table, and Charlie and I were tucking in, me eating three times as much as him.

I had just finished eating when the doorbell rang. I stood up, telling Charlie that I would get it. I pulled the door open and was surprised to see Emily standing there.

"Hello!" I said.

"I went to Paul's place, and he said you were here. He also told me that you had no clothes, and as I can see you have resorted to wearing his shirts. How about we go shopping?" she said.

"That would be great! Is now good?" I said, grateful to her for offering.

"Yes, now is great. We can easily be back in time for the sleepover." She said.

"Ok, let me just tell Charlie." I said, turning back into the house.

"Dad? Is it alright if I got shopping with Emily?" I asked.

"Sure! No problem. Here," he said, and he handed me an envelope. I opened it curiously and pulled out a credit card.

"Oh, Dad. You don't have to give me this" I said.

"I don't have to, but I want to. There is no limit. Don't worry about spending too much, I am not exactly poor." He said, grinning at me. I grinned back and embraced him in another hug, before turning and heading back to Emily.

She was sitting in the driver's seat of her old red truck. I pulled myself up and into the passenger seat, slipping my new credit card into my pocket and smiling at Emily. I settled into my seat, and closed my eyes. Immediately the image of Paul turning away from me this morning came into my mind, and I opened my eyes, my good mood gone, replaced by hurt.

"Are you ok?" Emily asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." I said, but she obviously didn't believe me.

"You can talk to me. I won't tell anyone, I promise." She said.

"It's just that Paul seems to be really repulsed by my body," I said, my voice choked up with unshed tears. "This morning, he saw me in a towel, and he couldn't get away from me fast enough."

"Ok," Emily said, and to my surprise she pulled into the side of the road and turned the car around, heading straight back to the Rez.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Well, Paul has upset you, so you are going to go back and get him to apologise, and then we can go shopping without you being miserable the whole time." She said, and she refused to listen to my arguments.

A few minutes later, she pulled up outside Paul's house.

"Take as long as you need. I'll wait here." She said, and I unwillingly pulled myself out of the car and trudged up to the door, knocking on it and praying that he would be out. I had no such luck, and he answered the door almost instantly.

"Bella," he said. "You don't have to knock, just come in," he said holding the door open as I walked past him, careful not to touch him. I stood just inside the door, and he pushed it closed behind him.

"Am I that repulsive" he asked when he took a step towards me and I took one back.

"I was going to ask you the same thing! You didn't have to act so disgusted this morning," I said angrily.

"What do you mean?" he said, his voice confused and angry.

"I mean, this morning when I was wrapped in a towel, you couldn't seem to get away from me fast enough!" I said back, my voice a little louder.

"I wasn't repulsed! It was hard to concentrate with an almost-naked beautiful girl that I love standing in front of me!" he said back, and we both froze.

"Y-you love me?" I stuttered quietly, my anger gone.

"Yes," he breathed, before walking towards me. This time I didn't step away, and soon he was pressed against me, out heated skin warming a few shades where we touched. "I am completely, totally, head-over-heels in love with you." He whispered in my ear, lifting a hand up to cup my cheek adn turning my face to his. I knew exactly what was going to happen, and strangely I wasn't at all scared.

His lips pressed lightly against mine, and I was shocked by how soft and warm they were. My eyes fluttered shut, and I cautiously lifted my hands and linked them through his silky black hair, pushing myself closer to him. He took a step towards me, forcing me backwards, and I felt my back pressing against the wall as his tongue swept across my lips. That was what started the memory, the time when James had grabbed my neck, shoving me against a wall and forcefully kissing me, his tongue plunging into my mouth. I began to struggle, and Paul realised instantly, taking a step back.

"Too much," I said, gasping for air.

"Sorry," he said, and he too sounded a little out of breath.

"I should go, Emily is waiting outside." I said, pushing myself away from the wall and smiling gently at him. "I am going to the sleepover after that, so see you tomorrow?" I said as I made my way back tot he door.

"Ok," he said, and I pulled the door open. "Wait," he said, and I felt his hand around my wrist. I turned back to him, and wasn't surprised when he gently rushed his lips against mine. I pulled back after a second, not wanting to get carried away again, and smiled at him again, before walking away and hopping into Emily's truck.

"I take it that went well," she said, grinning at me as we pulled out and headed out to Port Angeles again.

"Yes, it did," I said, smiling to myself.

**A/N There you go! So shopping, sleepover and general girly bonding time next chapter. Please tell me what you thought of this, I personally am not very pleased with it, but I needed to post something! Also, I want to start writing another story, something non-canon, but I really am not sure what pairing to do, so of you have any ideas or preferences, please don't hesitate to tell me! I need to write something else, otherwise I will get bored of this story. And hank you so much to everyone who reviewed! Relwot xxx**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N I am so sorry about the long wait for this chapter, but due to personal reasons I was unable to post it before now. I promise not to leave such a long gap again if I can possibly avoid it! But anyway, here it is now.**

**Disclaimer (I know I tend to forget!) – The original characters and story belong entirely to SM and no copyright infringement was intended. I just like to take the characters out for a bit, give them some exercise!**

**EmilyPOV**

We drove in comfortable silence all the way to Port Angeles, Bella just sitting with her eyes shut and a small smile on her lips, obviously thinking about Paul. I knew that she had a lot of recovering to do, but letting Paul in like she just had would help her immensely. Of course, the girly night tonight would also do wonders, but she needed to re-establish her trust in men. I parked on the side of the road, and Bella opened her eyes, looking surprised.

"That was quick!" she said, before hopping out of the car, a strange bounce in her step. I smiled at her as I began to lead the way to the shops.

"Ok, so basically you need a whole new wardrobe, right?" I said, and she just nodded. "So I was thinking, we can start by getting you some shorts and t-shirts, things you can wear when you are 'on duty' for the pack, then we can get you some nicer, more fashionable clothes later."

"That sounds great. I don't want to spend too much on my 'on duty' clothes though, I don't want to shred expensive outfits if I can help it, so where do you think is best for cheap stuff?" she said, and after thinking about it for a moment, I decided to take her to a little second hand shop around the corner.

**BPOV**

I felt fantastic and alive after the kiss I had shared with Paul. That surprised me, because it had forced up the memories again, but strangely I had been able to just ignore them. I followed Emily to the little shop round the corner without being able to keep the small bounce out of my step.

We stepped in through the door, and I had to duck slightly, but when I looked up I was surprised by how big the shop was. From the outside it looked like it was only four feet square, but actually it was pretty large, full of all kinds of clothes.

We spent the next hour trying on countless outfits, and eventually I settled on four pairs of shorts and an armful of t-shirts. Emily bought a pretty sundress that looked great on her, and she was smiling as she paid. From what I could tell, she rarely went shopping, and this was as much a treat for her as it was for me.

"Right, now we need to find you something for your date with Paul!" she said, I having told her about it whilst we were trying on our clothes.

"I don't think it is really a date," I said, but even as I spoke I realised that it really was. A funny feeling went through my stomach as I thought that, fluttery and weird but not entirely unpleasant.

"Don't be silly, of course it's a date!" Emily said, before moving on to talk about all the different shops we could try. We ended up going to almost every shop we could find before I finally came across the perfect dress for the date, and I couldn't wait to show it off to Paul.

Then we went into a lingerie store. I tried on the first set Emily gave me, just simple navy blue bra and panties, and then turned to the mirror. What I saw completely shocked me, and I just stood there for I don't know how long. I was tall with slightly tanned skin now, and my body shape was pretty nice, I guess. But what shocked me were the scars. After my transformation, they had faded almost completely, but now that my skin was darkening the pale lines that crisscrossed my skin stood out like beacons.

"Bella, can I see?" Emily called out, but I couldn't seem to find my voice. I was horrible, ugly, broken. My skin was permanently distorted and I knew then that I could never let Paul see me like this. It would drive him away for certain. I felt tears in my eyes, but for once I managed to quench them. Emily pushed aside the curtain cautiously, but froze when she saw me. Then she smiled, and I was so shocked that I lost my hold on my emotions, and the tears began to flow.

Emily stayed in the doorway for another endless second before she took two strides into the cubicle, gathering me up in a hug that squeezed the air from my lungs.

"You're beautiful" she whispered in my ear before releasing me. "Now, I don't really like that colour on you. I'll go look for some other pieces, you wait here," she said, before walking back into the shop. I tried on everything she handed me, but I could no longer muster up a smile, my good mood having vanished completely. I sighed when Emily finally decided we'd done enough shopping, and trudged back to the car.

Scars, pale white lines and blotches marring my skin, danced behind my eyes every time I blinked, and when my eyes were open everything I saw as tinged with grey. I wasn't angry, or even upset, I just felt dead. Emily was looking at me with a terrified expression on her face, and it took me a while to realise why. She was scared that I would lose control of my emotions and phase. She had already been badly injured by one wolf phasing; of course she would be terrified of me now. After all, I was a monster.

**EmilyPOV**

I wished so badly that I hadn't made her try on the underwear, she looked so dead. I was terrified that she would turn bad again. I mean, she had just started to be happy and I desperately didn't want her to lose that. She glanced over at me, a slight frown on her face, and then she looked mildly shocked before turning away as if she were repulsed. I couldn't understand the thought process behind those expressions, but I was too scared to ask.

"I just want to stop at my place before we head to the sleepover to grab my things. Is that ok?" I asked timidly as we were pulling into La Push after a tense and silent ride. She just nodded, still staring out of the window, refusing to meet my eyes. I reversed up the driveway to mine and Sam's house with practised ease, and Bella got out of the car when I invited her in, still not speaking. We went into the house and she just stood awkwardly in the kitchen whilst I went upstairs to pack quickly.

"Hi honey," Sam said as he met me just outside our bedroom, and he gently kissed me before dragging his lips across the scars on my face. I smiled at him, reassuring him as I always had to when he made any reference to my scars.

"Bella is downstairs, and she's bad again," I whispered as quietly as I could, and a frown marred his beautiful features as he walked past me, obviously going to see her. I sighed before moving around the room to pack.

**SPOV**

I jumped down the entire staircase in one leap like I normally did; taking them one at a time was too much bother. I went into the kitchen with a horrible sense of apprehension following me, and my fears were confirmed when I saw the expression, or lack of, on Bella's dead face. She looked grey and ill, with blank eyes that barely acknowledged me.

"Bella," I said, barely a whisper, but knowing that she would hear me. "Please, what happened?" I asked, and held my breath as I waited for her to answer.

"My skin, the scars, they are everywhere. I can never escape what he did!" she yelled out the last sentence so loud that Emily heard and came running down the stairs to stand by me, a look of immense sadness on her face when she saw the tears carving lines down Bella's face. She stepped towards Bella, obviously trying to offer some comfort, but Bella just mirrored her step backwards, clearly not wanting anyone near her.

"Bella, why don't you take your new clothes back to Charlie's house, I think you are controlled enough to handle living with him and Sue now. Emily can pick you up in an hour, give you a chance to calm down." I said, and she just nodded at me before running out of the door. I heard the car doors opening and shutting as she collected her clothes before the quick padding of feet as she ran away before silence once again engulfed our cottage.

"Oh Sam, I don't know what to do! I just want to help, but she won't let me in!" Emily said after a moment's silence, and the pained expression on her face just added to my own pain. I gathered her up in my arms, hugging her close to me, telling her again and again that it would be alright.

**EmbryPOV**

I was heading to Sam's house to ask him about changing the patrols when I literally ran into Bella, with neither of us concentrating on where we were going. Even though she was a wolf, she was still tiny compared to me, and I knocked her to the ground when I hit her. She dropped the handful of shopping bags she was carrying and everything spilled out onto the road.

She looked into my eyes for a never ending second before she began to cry. By the look of her swollen eyes she had been crying for some time, and I had no idea what to do. After an awkward pause I knelt down and silently began to help her put the clothes back into the bag, sensing that she would just get more upset if I tried to comfort her.

**BPOV**

It was just too much, and I began to cry again like the weak monster I was. He knelt down and for a moment I thought he was going to comfort me, but thankfully he just began to put all of my clothes back into the bags. I tried to tell him not to bother, that I would manage, but my voice didn't seem to be working, so I just helped him, and we soon had everything packed up. He looked at me again for a second before standing up, and after helping me up he just carried on to wherever he was headed.

The whole encounter had only taken a couple of minutes, but it had successfully put me into his debt, which he would probably try to claim sooner rather than later. I carried on walking, the tears still flowing and I prayed that Charlie and Sue would be out somewhere. I didn't want them to see me like this.

Someone had been listening, as when I tried the door it was locked, and I actually managed a weak smile through my tears. I pulled the spare key out of my pocket, something I always kept on me, and let myself in. I thought briefly about how Paul would be upset that I was moving out, but it would be better for him in the long run. I could fight the imprint. Sure, it would hurt but I figured that the pain would slowly fade, and I could deal with pain.

I slowly unpacked, and after half an hour I glanced in the mirror and was shocked to see that the tears were still tracing their way down my pale cheeks. I stepped closer to the mirror, and despair came crashing over me. There was a faint scar, only a pale line on paling skin, but it was there, cutting from my right temple to my chin.

I walked down the stairs and picked up the phone, flicking through my dad's contact book until I found Sam's number, and dialled without consciously realising what I was doing. I can't remember exactly what I said, but I know I managed to say that I wasn't going to the sleepover anymore. I think Emily tried to persuade me otherwise, but I honestly couldn't stand the thought of socialising right now.

* * *

**JakePOV**

I banged on Charlie's door, determined to see Bella. It had been three days, and there was still no sign of her. Charlie answered the door after an impatient minute, but when he saw me his face fell.

"It's no use. She won't see you." He said sadly, before starting to push the door closed. I stubbornly put my foot out to jam the door, not planning on giving up so easily.

"Charlie, I am her oldest friend. Let me go and see her, please," I begged, and he stared into my eyes for a moment. That pause was all I need to push the door open and run through the house, finding Bella's room with practised ease. I considered knocking, but she would have heard me coming up the stairs anyway, so I just grasped the door handle, took a deep breath and walked in.

The first thing I noticed was that there was absolutely no furniture left in the room, and the walls were stripped bare of the pictures and posters that had previously hung there. The rugs were gone, and in the middle of the surprisingly large room sat Bella. She had her knees curled up to her chest, and she was wearing only her underwear. She had her arms wrapped tightly around her legs and she was just staring at the wall. I turned to see what she was looking at and saw a huge full length mirror hanging on the there.

"Leave," she whispered, her voice so hoarse I could barely hear her.

"Bella, you are beautiful. Please, come back." I begged pathetically, but she just repeated that one word, "Leave." I stood for a moment, undecided about what to do, before I made up my mind, turning around and running out of the house, ignoring Charlie as I ran past him.

**QuilPOV**

Jake burst into Sam's kitchen where the whole pack plus imprints were having a brunch prepared by the girls. He was out of breath, which meant he must have really sprinted to get here from Bella's place. I frowned slightly at him, confused.

"Listen, everybody. You all need to come with me. Bella is really bad; she has stripped her room down and is just sitting there staring into a mirror. We have to do something!" he said, with a slightly mad glint in his eyes.

"Ok, if you think that will work, anything to get her back." Sam said after a moment's silence, and we all set off for Bella's house as one big group, intent on saving our friend.

**PPOV**

The last three days had been so mind-numbingly, gut-wrenchingly painful for me that I couldn't even begin to describe it. Knowing that Bella, my beautiful angel, was in pain and that she didn't want me to see her, that was pure torture, but what was entirely worse was that it was my fault. I kissed her too soon, pushed her over the edge. Emily said it was the scars, but what had really set her off on the downwards spiral was me. I felt like such a worthless, jerkish idiot, and I knew then that I would fight the imprint, not be with Bella, let her have a chance with someone who she actually deserved.

It would hurt, I knew that, but I could deal with the pain, and over time it would diminish and we could move on. When Jake came in suggesting that we all go and visit Bella, I was in two minds about whether or not I should go, but I eventually decided to go, just to see her one last time. We all headed off to her house, and somehow I ended up in the lead, and it was me who opened the door to her bedroom.

Shocked wasn't enough to describe how I felt when I walked in through that door; the sight of my angel so filled with grief and self hate was horrendous to me, and I acted completely on instinct, walking into the room and scooping her up into my arms, crushing her in a hug, trying to tell her wordlessly that I was there for her, that I loved her.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, and I released her slightly, confused as to why she was apologising.

"I don't expect you to be with me anymore. I will leave, go back and live with my mum. You can find someone whole, someone beautiful." She said, still whispering with a voice so hoarse it was painful to hear.

I looked down into her beautiful, chocolate eyes, and was filled with such guilt. How could I have considered leaving her, when she needed me so much? "Isabella Marie Swan, you are the most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on, the most beautiful girl I ever _will _lay eyes on, and the scars you have only prove further to me what an amazing, strong and wonderful person you truly are. I know we haven't had long together, but I love you with my heart and soul, and I don't think I could live a life worth living without you in it." She stared back at me, her lips parted slightly as she began to absorb what I had just said.

After a long minute of silence, she carefully uncurled herself from my embrace, walked over to the corner where her clothes were and pulled them on.

"I appreciate you lying to me to try and make me feel better, but I would honestly prefer it if you told the truth." She said, before running out of the door, pushing past everyone standing there and racing down the stairs.

I hesitated for a moment, before leaping up and chasing after her, with the rest of the pack following behind. I sprinted out of the door and saw her part way down the road, and I yelled at the others to leave it and let me go after her.

One by one they stopped running until I was chasing after her on my own. She was fast, but she also hadn't eaten for three days, and so she was weaker than normal. I caught up with her just inside the forest, grabbing her around the waist, our combined momentum knocking us to the ground. We rolled around for a few second before finally coming to a stop, with me on top of her, my superior weight ensuring that I had her completely pinned.

"Paul..." she began, but I didn't want to hear it. Instead I leant down the last couple of inches between us and captured her perfect lips in a passionate kiss. She struggled at first, but after a few seconds she gave in and began to cautiously kiss me back. We stayed there for what felt like eternity, and it was the most beautiful and perfect time of my life. I didn't push her any further than a kiss, knowing that she wasn't ready for that yet, but at the moment I was more than happy with just the kiss.

Eventually we broke apart, and I rolled onto my back, pulling her on top of me, wrapping my arms around her tiny waist, staring at her dazzling beauty. I was amazed at how sexy she looked just then, with her hair all tangled and messy and her lips swollen and red from the kiss. She leant down and brushed her lips softly against mine, before slowly rolling off me and standing up. I stood up as well, and before she could protest I scooped her up into my arms, cradling her like a baby against my chest.

We walked back slowly, stopping now and then to exchange soft and loving kisses, but we never spoke a word. By the time we got back to the Rez it was late afternoon with the sun just beginning to bend down to kiss the horizon, painting everything gold.

I heard the pack talking at Sam's house as we walked past, and with a glance and nod from her we headed there. I let her down gently at the door, and she smiled at me before ringing the doorbell. Emily answered the door, with everyone else standing behind her, desperate to see us.

"Isabella," she said with a stern look on her face, and Bella cringed into my side slightly. "You should know by now not to bother ringing the doorbell!"

**A/N Please tell me what you thought of this chapter! I am not too happy with the way it turned out, but I had to post something. Just a warning, this isn't the last of the bumps in Bella's recovery, but I promise to give you a happy ending eventually! Relwot xxx**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N As I said earlier, I have decided to resume this story because I did have lots of plans for it and then my personal life got in the way so I ended it in a very unsatisfying way. Anyway, I am back now and will carry this story on as I originally intended it to. **

**I have deleted the final chapter where Bella got her happy ending and the story now continues on from the original chapter 12. If you are reading this after having read the previous chapter 13 then thank you, and I hope you can forgive my long absence.**

**Criticism is welcome, and feel free to rant at me for leaving this story like I did! It is no more than I deserve! Anyway, on with the story!**

**Disclaimer (I know I always forget to put this!) – All original characters and universes and stuff belong to Stephenie Meyer. I just like to borrow her characters, you know, give them a bit of exercise and excitement!**

**BPOV**

I knew that I was strong as werewolf. Apart from the first two days after I first phased I had never phased when I didn't want to. No one except me seemed to notice, but it had been one of the thoughts always swimming at the back of my mind. Why didn't I lose control like the others did? Even Sam had been known to shred some clothes unintentionally, yet I never had that problem.

I was lying on my back in the middle of my room in Charlie's house, my shoulder blades pressing into the bare floorboards. I should really get up and start moving my furniture back in, but I couldn't quite bring myself to move. It was so nice to just be peaceful and alone for once. I smiled slightly as I remembered how much persuasion it had taken to get Paul to leave me here for a bit, and I had ended up shoving him out of the door, trying my best to hide my smile.

I thought for a while about my superior control, before I came up with a theory. What if my time with James had forced me to be in control of myself, forced me to ensure I always had my emotions in control? I had, after all, lived a lie in front of everyone I knew and loved, and had managed to get through every day with a smile plastered on my bruised face. Maybe that control had been what allowed me to be in control of the wolf within me.

I hated what I was. I hated the fact that it seemed impossible for me to escape from the world of supernatural creatures. I would give anything to just be a normal person. Changing into a wolf always brought up memories of what had happened and although my panic attacks seemed to be a thing of the past I still hated to remember. Forgetting didn't seem to be an option here in La Push and if I couldn't forget then how could I heal? What I really needed was to go somewhere and be a normal person. I would stop phasing and remove myself from the world of supernatural's and maybe then the memories would no longer plague me.

**SamPOV**

There was a knock on the door, soft and unsure, and I sighed before sitting up and rubbing my hands through my hair. Emily had gone for the week to visit her parents so I was home alone. I had been looking forward to a lone lie in to catch up on the sleep I had lost from covering Bella's patrols recently. I knew she needed a break, and I wasn't about to force the others to do more than they already were.

"Coming!" I called out to whoever it was as I quickly pulled on some shorts before leaping down the stairs and striding into the kitchen, pulling the door open whilst trying to tame my hair a little.

"Bella!" I said, surprised to see her hear. "Emily is gone for the week, I thought she told you?" I said, confused as to why she was here.

"I came to see you, Sam actually. Is it ok if I talk to you for a few minutes? I promise to be quick," she said, sounding nervous. I had no idea what was bothering her, but I stepped to the side, silently inviting her in. She stepped past me and then waited for me to lead the way through to the living room, where she cautiously perched on the edge of the sofa. I collapsed into the armchair, rubbing the last of the sleep from my eyes and waiting patiently for her to begin.

"I want to quit,' she eventually said, finally raising her eyes to meet mine.

"Quit? Quit what?" I said, confused.

"I want to quit the pack, quit being a wolf." She said, and I could detect a layer of determination in her voice that I had never heard from her before. I sat there for a minute, mulling it over. She had demonstrated amazing control, and we would get by fine without her, but was she ready to stop phasing?

"Why?" I eventually asked, wondering why she had reached this decision now.

"There are things in my head, memories that I can't keep hiding and don't want you to have to see." She said, and I was about to reply when she continued on. "I am broken, Sam. You have seen the scars; you know what I look like and what I went through. I want to be normal, I want to forget what happened, and being a wolf just reminds me of it constantly. I want to move away, go somewhere new without the memories. I want to cut off all ties and just start again." Her heated gaze remained locked with mine, and I understood then that she had truly convinced herself that it was the only way for her to get better, the only way for her to heal.

"Bella, it is your choice, and you don't need my permission, but think of Jake, your dad, Leah... all the people you are leaving behind. Think of Paul," I said, knowing for everyone's sake I had to say something, had to try and convince her to stay no matter how useless I knew it was.

"I have thought of that, and everyone will be better off without having to worry about me. I mean, everyone is doing so much for me and I never give anything back. I don't want to live my life being such a burden." She said, and I saw tiny tears swim in her eyes, but she blinked them away, refusing to let them fall.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, my mind running a mile a minute trying to think of something I could say to make her stay. "Phase, just once more and explain to the pack." I said hoping that it would convince her of how much everyone wanted her here.

She looked like she was about to say no, but then nodded her head in a resigned manner, standing up and heading towards the door. I followed her, and watched as she headed towards the forest, her shoulders slightly hunched, her head hung low as she began to jog amongst the trees. I followed her, pulling off my shorts as soon as I was under the cover of the trees, loving the feel of the wind ruffling restlessly through my fur, loving the freedom that came with being in wolf form.

I raised my black muzzle to point at the sky and let loose a howl that would have the locals talking for days, knowing that the pack would be the only ones that understood it. I felt the shimmer in the air as they all began to phase, Leah and Paul phasing last, complaining about being called out so early. Bella still hadn't phased, but I stopped that thought as soon as it started, not wanting to be the one to tell them all.

_What about her? Is she ok? Where is she?_ Of course everyone picked up on my thought, and I was immediately bombarded with questions and worries. I sighed and brought up thoughts of Emily, concentrating on her beautiful face instead of thinking of Bella.

**PPOV**

I was confused by Sam, but knew that if it was something important he would tell us, so I wasn't too worried. I felt the shimmer as Bella phased nearby, and turned to face her as she slipped into the clearing where we had gathered.

_I'm leaving. _She thought, and I frowned slightly, confused. What did she mean?

_I mean that I am going somewhere new, somewhere I can start fresh with no one knowing me or my past. I am so sorry Paul, but the imprint will fade over time, I'm sure. I just need to escape from it all. I will stop phasing and you can all move on with your lives without me._

_Bella, please! Don't go, we need you here! _Jake's thoughts were mirrored by the rest of the pack and I could barely take in what was happening.

She was already running away as she finished up her thoughts. Every part of me was screaming, screaming that I needed to stop her. I began to run after her, calling out to her in my mind but she didn't stop running. _I'm so sorry Paul. _Her thought cut through me and then she was gone, phased back to being a human. _BELLA! _I screamed in my mind, but I knew it was hopeless. I had felt her determination when she said she was leaving and I knew that nothing I could say or do would change her mind.

_Paul, you have to stop. Leave her, let her make her own choices. _I couldn't believe Sam. He had an imprint and he knew how impossible it was to be away from Emily, so why was he telling me to leave my reason for existence alone? _I am sorry Paul, but like you said, there is nothing you can do. Phase back, come home. _The alpha command had me back in my human form almost instantly and to my horror I felt tears in my eyes. I blinked them away furiously before setting off in the direction of the reservation. My thoughts were in a complete mess, and I couldn't understand why I had just let her go. It took me a while to think it through before I realised the truth. Imprints could be whatever the person imprinted on needed them to be. Bella had needed me to heal her and now she was ready for a fresh start. I had completed my purpose and was no longer needed. I was worthless. Something inside me knew that and that was why I didn't pursue her.

"Sue is doing lunch for us. We are all heading over there. We need to tell Charlie what happened." Sam was now jogging beside me in human form and I just nodded at him. We reached the house quickly and I felt the numbness that was now surrounding me slip just an inch when I caught the faintest bit of her scent in the kitchen.

"Ok then, who wants some food?" Sue smiled at us all before stopping when she saw all of our faces. Normally we were joking around, smiling and happy but none of us seemed to be able to muster any energy now.

**BPOV**

I ran away from La Push, from Jake and Sam, from my dad and Sue, from the memories and the pain. I ran away from Paul. Tears that had seemed like my almost constant companion for years were now resolutely absent and what remained of my heart didn't seem to be lying shattered within my chest. I didn't think, didn't picture his face or try to absorb what I was doing, I just ran. Paul had helped to heal me, but I couldn't imagine being with anyone who thought of what happened to me whenever they laid eyes on me. I didn't want to remember, I wanted to forget. I couldn't truly heal and recover from what James had done unless I started a whole new life. I might even change my name, not so as to hide but just to help me to become a new person.

**PPOV**

DAY 1 ALONE

Sue came over with dinner for me. I wasn't hungry, just went back upstairs to sleep.

DAY 2 ALONE

Sam told me to go and patrol. I ran the border until he told me to get some rest. I went back to my bed and slept.

DAY 3 ALONE

Emily came home today. She came to my house and cooked me a meal. I ate a little, didn't want to insult her. When she left I went upstairs back to my bed and slept.

DAY 10 ALONE

I was in patrol for the last two nights so I just went to bed in the morning and went to sleep.

DAY 20 ALONE

The boys were trying to get me to join them for a brunch at Emily's place, but I wasn't hungry and didn't want to have to pretend to be ok. I just stayed in bed and slept.

I can't remember the colour of her eyes. They were brown, but I can't picture the shade or the spark that I know was there. I went to Collin and told him I wasn't sleeping well. The pills he gave me let me have a few blissful hours of unconsciousness but it never lasts long enough. If I just go to sleep on my own I have the nightmare, the one where I am walking alone through an endless white expanse, completely devoid of all feeling except a crippling sense of loss. I can't stand that dream.

**SPOV**

Paul stopped phasing months ago on the one year anniversary of Bella leaving. I can already see the signs of ageing in him, a crease on his forehead or a line by his eyes. We rarely ever see him these days, and when we do he barely says a word to us. I hate to say it but we all gave up trying to help him a long, long time ago and now even the girls don't call round his place to see him. I know how much it breaks Emily's heart to see him like that, but there doesn't seem to be anything we can do.

**BPOV**

I lay in my bed with my eyes shut just listening to the soft sounds around me. I had tried living in a large city, thinking that the number of people and the anonymity of the lifestyle would be exactly what I needed but I just found it too stressful and oppressive. I made a spur of the moment decision and flew to London one night and then spent a few days searching for places to go. I didn't want to be in a large city but equally I didn't want to be alone in the countryside. After much searching I came across the perfect place and booked tickets to go straight there the next day.

I had called my dad not long after I first left and he had understood my need to leave. He had also said that I could use the credit card he gave me as much as I wanted, but I had managed to get a decent paying job as a waitress when I was back in the States and I now had a similar job here so I was providing for myself pretty well. I had used some of his money but I didn't want to put any strain on his bank account so I used it frugally.

I opened my eye after a while, my thoughts too active for sleep and decided to do one of my favourite night-time pastimes. I loved to just wonder around the town at night when everyone else was asleep. I found the night air to be very calming and therapeutic. I quickly pulled on some clothes and a jumper before leaving my flat and heading out onto the streets. I wondered for ages just letting my thoughts calm themselves and my mind go blank. I was perfectly happy and content, having trained myself over the past year and a half not to think about my 'previous life' as I liked to call it. I was very good at forgetting it now along with all the pain I had gone through.

I was startled out of my musings by a muffled scream from slightly further down the street and moments later a dark figure emerged ahead of me running quickly down the street and disappearing around a corner. I thought I saw a flash of red, but it was probably my imagination. Sadly these sorts of things were common here. I refused to think about how I had heard similar screams on almost all my nightly wanderings recently and how the scream sounded like that of the girl James had killed in front of me when I first met him. Instead I just learned to ignore the odd things that occurred here in Volterra.

**A/N Well, if you have read on from my original story then I am extremely grateful and if you are a new reader then thank you as well for reading this! As you can see I have some rather large plot developments to follow up in this story, (the Volterra bit is important :P) so keep on reading to find out! **

**Just to make it clear, Bella is not 'over' Paul but has just learnt to not think about things that hurt her, something that I don't think ever works as a long term solution. As always I would really appreciate it if you could give me some feedback. I cannot improve if people don't tell me what I am doing wrong. Relwot xxx**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N Well thank you to everyone who read and reviewed my story! I really do appreciate it. A few of you were confused as to where this story is going and I am afraid that this chapter probably doesn't make my plans completely clear! But rest assured I am going somewhere with this! Remember, this story is all about Bella healing and what happened in the last chapter and what is going to happen in this chapter is all to do with her healing. **

**BPOV**

I had been in Volterra for a few months now and I had settled in nicely to my new job working in a local shop. I had only really made some acquaintances and not close friends but I was reasonably happy to lead a relatively solitary life. I smiled at customers and did exactly as my boss told me to and I enjoyed my peaceful night-time walks and all together my life was good and more importantly in my control. I knew exactly what was going to happen the next day, and the next, and the next day after that. No surprises, no pain and no complications.

One day when I was at work a customer, clearly a tourist, asked me about the history of the area where the shop was and I honestly couldn't answer her. I decided that it was appalling how little I knew about the place I was now referring to as home so when I got home that night I went onto my computer and looked for a guided tour of the city. I found a number to call and wrote it down, planning on calling in the morning as it was getting quite late.

In the morning the first thing I did was pick up the phone and dial the number. I waited as it rang and was about to hang up when it was answered.

"Hello, how may I help you?" A pleasant female voice said, anonymous and cheerful.

"Umm, I would like to go on a tour of Volterra, and I found this number." I said.

"Ah yes, well out tours run on a slightly irregular basis but there is a tour on this Sunday that starts at 10am. Would that one be ok?"

"Yes, that would be great. Where does it start and how long does it take?" I asked.

"It starts in underneath the clock tower and you should probably leave the rest of your day free. We cover a lot of information in our tours and it can take quite a long time." I thanked her and hung up the phone, pleased that I had made my arrangements. It was odd that it would be a whole day as Volterra wasn't that big, but I guessed that there was a lot of history to it.

**PPOV**

I don't know how the guys talked me into it but I had agreed to meet them on the beach for a bonfire. I hadn't 'hung out' with them for such a long time but I was here now so I may as well relax and at least try to have a good time. I was the only one there but soon enough I heard footsteps and turned to see my old pack approaching.

"Paul, phase." I was shocked by Sam's request and angry manner.

"What?" I replied.

"Phase. Now," he said with a frown on his face.

"No!" I didn't want to phase, there was no point. I wasn't suicidal but I didn't want to extend my life span any further. There was no real point to life now that Bella had gone.

"You cannot go on like this. You need to get your life back, and if that means that we have to find Bella then that is what we will do. But you need to phase and join the pack. We will have to track her and you are useless as you are now. So phase." We were going to find Bella? That was the only thing that he said that really registered with me. I was trying so hard to absorb what he said that I didn't see the fist that was aiming for my jaw until it was too late. Pain shot through me and with flared a familiar anger that I hadn't felt in months. Hell, I had barely felt anything for months but the thought of seeing my angel again seemed to bring me back to life. The anger at the punch was now rippling through me and I felt myself beginning to shake.

I knew that I was going to phase but it felt slow and odd and I wasn't yet a wolf. _Come on_ I thought, but I was still resolutely human. I tried thinking about things that made me angry but nothing worked until I thought of that bastard James and the way he had hurt Bella. With a yell I felt my whole body and being shifting into the unmistakable form of a wolf. I felt the earth beneath my feet and smelt the multitude of smells. It was as if I had been living under a veil and now my senses were free. The whole world looked sharper, brighter and I felt the power and strength of the wolf flowing through me.

_We spoke to Charlie and Bella called him a year or so ago from New York, but it didn't sound like she was planning on staying there. We were thinking of asking the Cullen's for some help. They have been around for ages so they probably have contacts all over the place. _

_Sounds like a plan._

The air seemed to shiver as the rest of them phased and then we were off, running in the direction of the Cullen's house.

**AroPOV**

I turned away from Felix and Demetri after having made it quite clear how annoyed I was with them. I issued a command to have the now beheaded corpse of the vampire properly destroyed before turning away from it. I slowly glided over to my throne and settled myself upon it before reaching out a hand to Caius. He looked to be lost in deep thought and I was intrigued to know what he was thinking about. He reached out his hand and brushed his finger tips with mine.

_Why did she do it? Why did she kill when it was so obvious that another human was nearby and then not kill said human? What made her kill so conspicuously? Couldn't she see that we as vampires were blessed and that we should try to obey the rules that kept us alive?_

So his thoughts were centred on the girl they had just killed. Indeed she had killed conspicuously, but what had surprised me more than what the vampire did was what the other human did. She had completely ignored the scream and had barely reacted to the vampire leaving the alley way and hadn't gone to investigate. Any other human would have tried to find out what happened and I would have had to deal with them but she just kept on walking. Granted they didn't just kill the vampire for that one incident but a collection of similar incidents. And every single time the same human girl had been nearby and hadn't reacted to the screams or mysterious dark figure. I found it odd and I couldn't quite shake the image of her face from my mind. I had been keeping an eye on the incidents for a while and had issued a command for the guard to bring her in when the local people began to talk.

I was still quite angry with Felix and Demetri for killing her before I had a chance to read her thoughts, but she had been attacking viciously and they had been at risk of personal injury so I wasn't as angry as I might have been.

I left my brothers in the throne room to wonder down the hallways until I reached the library. I wondered through the extensive collection of books before selecting a very modern one, the first of the Harry Potter books, and headed back to the throne room to read it. I was using it as a distraction from the steady burn in the back of my throat. Tomorrow Heidi would be bringing in a group of tourists and I couldn't wait. I glanced towards the fire that was now burning in the far corner of the room and I just managed to catch a glimpse of fiery red hair before that too was consumed by the flames.

**PPOV**

We ran as fast as we could to the Cullen's house and the mind reader was already standing outside when we got there, the rest of his family waiting behind him with curious looks. We stopped just within the tree line and phased back and I was grateful when Jake handed me a spare pair of shorts. We all jogged out of the forest and up to their house. The mind reader stepped to the side and we all filed into their house.

"We need your help," Sam said, getting straight to the point.

"With?" I hated the way the blonde one always behaved so haughtily around us.

"We have to find Bella. Paul needs her and the imprint must be causing her pain as well. We should never have let her leave and we thought that you might have some contacts that would help us?" The mention of my angels name made my heart give a little leap and for the first time in over a year I was feeling hope.

"Are you sure that pursuing her is the right thing to do? I mean, it was her choice to leave," The leader, Carlisle, said.

"I need her," I said, realising the complete and utter truth of my words. I couldn't go on without her for much longer and I was positive that it was the same for her as well.

"We do have many friends around the world, so I will start calling around if you are positive that this is what you want to do." We all nodded at Carlisle and he ran out of the room and seconds later I heard him on the phone.

"If you do find out where she is, then I would like to come with you to get her." The haughty blonde one stepped forward and was surprisingly talking directly to me. I remembered how she had comforted and helped Bella and I nodded to her.

"We will call you if we find anything." The mind reader's words were clearly a dismissal and we all took the hint and left their house. I was glad to get away from their stench and I phased once I was in the forest. It was easy, natural this time and I was able to relax into my wolf form and just enjoy the freedom.

_Would you like to do the patrols for now? Leah is on as well so the two of you could take the afternoon shift. _Sam thought and I agreed. I felt Leah phase and was surprised by how excited she was that we were going to find Bella.

_Shut up jerk. She's my friend. _Leah hadn't changed then, still as blunt and insensitive. I dodged her gaping jaws as she chased after me, laughing at her temper.

_Come on, Sam's gonna kill us if we don't do a proper patrol. _We began to run along the border and around La Push and the rest of the afternoon passed quietly. We phased back when Jared and Jake took over and Leah invited me to Emily's place. I was surprised by that as well but it seemed that Leah and Emily had started to make their peace although there was still a little tension between them. Emily had cooked our dinner and it felt great to have a proper meal again. With my return to shape shifting I had also regained my massive appetite and I shocked myself by how much I could eat.

After dinner we all settled around the tv playing video games and it was great being like old times. I eventually left to go back home and crashed onto my bed expecting sleep to claim me quickly. It was whilst I was lying there that the waiting became tense. I couldn't sleep, my mind to active and the anticipation for the Cullen's to call too great so I ended up watching tv for the rest of the night.

The hours turned into days and still the Cullen's didn't call. The wait was now becoming unbearable and my happy excitement was diminishing by the second. Doubts began to creep into my mind and I began to despair at the thought that we might not be able to find Bella. I mean, she had wanted a whole new start, so she might even have changed her name and everything. The Cullen's probably had a lot of contacts, but what were the chances of one of them having seen and remembered Bella?

Two weeks after we I began phasing again I was over at Emily and Sam's place and the phone rang. All of the pack were there having a barbeque but our spirits were hanging a little low after all the excitement we had a fortnight ago. We all froze when the phone rang and we could all hear Sam answering the phone.

"_Hello Sam. It's Carlisle. Would you like to come over?"_

We all leapt up at that and we were sprinting to their house before Sam could finish the conversation. It took us almost no time at all to reach the house and Carlisle was waiting outside for us.

"I am afraid it isn't good news. None of my friends have seen Bella. I haven't been able to contact all of them so I will keep on trying but there are only another five I haven't managed to reach." I felt my heart drop to the pit of my stomach and I felt physically sick. I had placed so much hope in this endeavour and I had no idea what to do now.

"I am well acquainted with the most powerful coven in the vampire world but I don't really want to contact them. If they did help us find her then we would be in their debt and trust me when I say you do not want to owe the Volturi anything." I met his eyes and knew instantly that I would rather be in debt to these Volturi for the rest of my life than to go back to my pathetic and Bella-less existence.

"Call them," I said calmly, keeping my own eyes focused on his golden ones, trying to convey how much I needed this.

"Sam?" He turned away from me after a moment to ask our Alpha his opinion.

"Tell me more about these Volturi first, and then I will decide."

Carlisle gestured for us to enter the house and we all did except for Embry and Quil who Sam sent on patrol. The rest of the pack sat on the sofas but I was too restless to sit still so I chose to stand instead.

Carlisle began to describe the Volturi, how they were an ancient coven that was the equivalent to royalty in the vampire's world. He himself had been a member and was considered a friend, but he disagreed with them. He described the members and the powers they had and how dangerous they were. All the time that he was talking I was praying that Sam would agree to contact them and when Carlisle finally finished Sam nodded to him.

"Contact them. Paul needs Bella; in fact we all need Bella back, by any means."

**A/N There you go! I know this chapter is a little shorter than the last one but I really wanted to end it there! As always, I would really appreciate it if you could take only a minute out of your busy lives to tell me what you think of it and all criticism is welcome! Thank you for reading! Relwot xxx**


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